


Don't Forget Me

by toughchoices



Series: Don't Forget Me [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:15:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 147,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7601269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toughchoices/pseuds/toughchoices
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alex gets injured in Abby's last game but it's a little more serious then what happened in real life.  Her relationship with Tobin drastically changes with her head injury and they are both thrown for a loop when she wakes up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Hit

**Author's Note:**

> So I started writing this a long time ago, like in November. But then a lot of things happened that I couldn't predict, like the Hawaii game not happening, Pinoe getting injured, and them losing Abby's last game just to name a few. So I started to rewrite and then I got busy with school and kinda forgot about it for a while but here it is.

Tobin crosses the ball into the box, bending it right towards Abby.  Abby brings it down easy, takes a touch and then sends it towards the far post.  The Chinese keeper dives and is able to tip it up and out for a corner kick. Tobin jogs across the field, dribbling the ball to the flag. She sets the ball where she wants it and takes a step back, raising her hand.  Tobin takes in where everyone is standing.  Abby has two people around her but a space opens up just in front of Alex as a third Chinese player moves closer to Abby. ‘ _ She can get it. _ ’

Alex stands near the far post between two defenders, watching Tobin.  She see’s the look in her eyes and knows just where the ball is going to be. She watches Tobin’s arm drop and the ball curves right towards her. She jumps up as two defenders come in towards her. She feels the ball hit right above her forehead, then she feels a hard blow to her cheek, and then she doesn’t feel anything. Everything is black. She hears a ringing, a buzzing. The blackness starts to fade, going from black to gray to white to nothing.

~~~

Tobin follows the ball with her eyes after kicking the ball.  She watches Alex’s head connect with the ball, sending it towards the goal.  The ball goes straight into the keeper’s hands and Tobin turns to head back down the field.  She turns her head around looking for the ball and notices Julie and Morgan kneeling down right in front of the goal.  The whistle is blown while the official and a few Chinese players motion towards the US trainers frantically. Tobin looks closer and sees a figure on the ground in front of them. Alex. She starts jogging over, looking straight to Morgan, locking eyes, hoping to get any type of information from her face as the trainers rush towards the goal. ‘ _ Is it her knee? _ ’ ‘ _ Did she come down funny? _ ’  Tobin quickly starts to head over while Morgan shakes her head.  The younger midfielder turns back to Alex, not being able to look at Tobin. Tobin looks around Morgan and Julie and notices Alex isn’t moving.  Tobin moves around Morgan and sees Abby leaning over Alex.

“ALEX.  Come on, wake up,” Abby says authoritatively, snapping her fingers in front of the younger forward’s face.  Abby looks up and sees Tobin.  “Tobin you shouldn’t touch her, okay? But talk to her.”  The trainers finally get there and push Abby and Tobin back.  A stretcher comes up next to them seconds later.  Tobin stands there in shock, watching the woman she cares for so much have a cervical collar put around her neck.  Abby grips her shoulder tightly, “Talk to her Tobin.  She’ll want to hear your voice.”  Tobin looks between Abby and Alex, her mouth opens but no words come out.

Tobin feels another arm reach around her back and grip her waist. She looks over and sees Kelley nervously looking down at Alex.

Tobin refocuses on Alex who is about to be put on a backboard.  Tobin takes a shaky step forward as Alex gets rolled onto her side.  The backboard slides under her and she is then quickly strapped to it.  Tobin’s knees buckle and almost drops except for Kelley’s arm that is around her waist, holding her up. 

Abby steps in front of Tobin putting her hands on the side of her face, “TOBIN.  She’s going to be okay.  Go with her.  She’ll want you there when she wakes up.”  Tobin shakes herself out of the cloud she had  entered, nodding, and then looking at Alex as she is transported onto the stretcher.  Tobin sprints to catch up as it is wheeled away towards an ambulance that is waiting at the edge of the turf.

She jumps into the back just before the doors close. She sits down and looks up, starting at the blue cleats in front of her. Her eyes start to slowly work their way up the body that she has spent years memorizing.  She places her hand on Alex’s shin before continuing to work her eyes up further. When she gets to her hips she sees the medic grabbing Alex’s blue jersey and start cutting up the middle, separating the 1 and 3 that have become synonymous with her name. Once her shirt is opened he peels off some circular stickers from a sheet and puts them on different parts of her torso followed by attaching different colored wires to each sticker.

Tobin opens her mouth, trying to find words. “Wha-What are you doing? Is she okay?  What’s going on?”

The man turns to her for a split second before continuing to work. “I just finished hooking up cables that are attached to this monitor,” he says, patting a gray box next to him, “this will show me how her heart is doing and how much oxygen she is getting. We’re not going to know much about what’s going on with her head until we get to the hospital but right now her breathing is a little shallow. We have her on O2-” The machine behind him beeps and starts printing out a thin piece of paper. He stops and turns toward it, pulling it out and looking at it for a moment. “Hey, how long until we get there” he calls a little frantic towards the front of the rig.

“We’re pulling in now. They have a team meeting us at the door to take her in” a female voice calls back. Tobin feels the ambulance stop and then the doors are thrown open. A person in green scrubs leans in and soon Alex is floating out of the ambulance making Tobin’s hand retract. Tobin sees Alex’s face stop in front of her for a moment while the stretcher is released from the ambulance.

Tobin notices that the normally beautiful skin is drained of color. She stares towards her eyes, hoping to see the two blue orbs that she fell in love with staring back at her. Unfortunately, all she sees are closed eyelids. “Lex?” She reaches out her hand until a male hand reaches out and pulls her hand back.  The stretcher is then moved away and towards the building.

“They need to help her. I can bring you to the front desk and they can either show you where her room will be or you’ll have to sit in the waiting room. It will depend on what she needs.” Tobin just nods and hops out. The medic walks up to the doors and enters a code that opens the sliding doors. Tobin’s cleats click against the tile as they walk up to the nurse’s station.

“Hey, we just brought an Alex Morgan in. I have one of her teammates and she is just wondering where she can go.”

“They just took her up to radiology but you can wait right over there” she says pointing to a glass enclosed room with chairs and a tv, “and I can let you know when something changes.”

“Thanks Ann,” the medic says before leading Tobin over to the waiting room and helping her into a chair. He pats her back quickly and adds, “Good luck,” before standing and heading back to the desk to finish the paperwork.

A while later, Ann walks over to Tobin who is still hunched over but has no tears left to cry. “You’re Tobin correct? You came in with Alex Morgan?”

Tobin stood up quickly, wiping her face with her jersey that she is still wearing. “Yes. That’s me. Can I see her yet?"

“No. I’m sorry they had to take her up to surgery. I have a few things I need you to sign though and then I am going to take you to a private room. The rest of your team will be here in an hour or two.”

Tobin nods then everything she’s just been told starts to register. “Wait surgery? What’s going on? Is she okay?”

“She had quite a bit of swelling and they need to reduce it.  A doctor will come and let you know more when they can. I’m sorry I don’t know any more at this time. If you could come and sign the papers though so we can get everything squared away.”

Tobin nods again and follows the nurse back to the desk, her feet clicking with each step against the linoleum. She hands Tobin a clipboard. “I need you to confirm that all of this information is correct to your knowledge and then sign right there at the bottom.” She points to a blank line where Tobin would sign. Tobin quickly gazes over it, full name, birthday, allergies, address, height, insurance, the list continues on. Tobin signs the bottom handing it back to Ann who gives it to another nurse behind the desk.

“Okay, Tobin,” she says in a comforting voice.  “We have set your team up in a conference room so you will have some privacy. The doctor will come for you there. If you could just follow me please?” The nurse starts walking down the hall, waving a key card over a scanner to open another set of doors. Tobin quickly falls into step behind her. “We also called Miss Morgan’s parents.” ‘ _ How did I forget about them? They should be here too. _ ’ “They are probably boarding soon. They were in the airport when we called.  Someone from your team had already called them. They wanted me to tell you to stay strong and that everything would work out.” She opens up a wooden door revealing a large conference room. There were chairs lining the walls as well as chairs around a large wooden table.

Tobin nods to the nurse then goes into the corner of the room, pushing a chair out of the way and sinking to the floor. She brings her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them, burying her head in between her knees.

She doesn’t know how much later it is but she hears the door open. She doesn’t look up but can hear many footsteps walking in. She hears the chair next to her move and feels someone sit next to her and put their arm around her.

“Tobs?” Lauren asks softly.  “Can you tell me what’s going on?” Tobin launches herself into Lauren’s arms as tears start to fall again. Lauren puts her hand on Tobin’s back and rubs circles. “Don’t cry sweetie. I got you. Alex is strong.” Amy walks over with a box of tissues handing them to Lauren who uses them to dry Tobin’s face only for it to be rewet by the endless flow of tears.

After a long time, the tears have dried and there are just a few sniffles from Tobin now and then. Ashlyn walks over to them with Tobin’s bag. She kneels down “Hey Tobin. We brought your stuff.” She reaches into Tobin’s bag pulling out a ring. “I thought you might want this.” Tobin looks up from Lauren’s chest to see Ashlyn holding out her engagement ring.

She reaches her hand out for it. “Thanks Ash,” she says with a small smile pulling the ring on after pulling off the tape she had wrapped around her finger for the first time just a few hours ago. She stares at the ring on her hand for the next few minutes until the door opens and an Asian woman in scrubs steps in.

“Tobin Heath?”

Tobin quickly stands up finally seeing all of her teammates, coaches, and staff crowded into the room. All of them are still in their jerseys or sweats from the game. Tobin walks to the door and past the doctor who closes the door behind them.

“Hi Tobin. I’m Dr. Liu, Alex’s doctor.” They shake hands quickly. “We were able to reduce the swelling in her brain. We think we got to it in time so as not to cause any long term damage. We won’t know for sure though until she wakes up. We are going to keep her in an coma for a few days so that her brain has time to heal. She is in very good shape so I have high hopes of her pulling out of this quite well.”

“Can I see her?” Tobin asks hopefully only hearing parts of what the doctor says but grasping that Alex is still alive and out of surgery.

“Not yet they are just finishing up but I would say within 30 minutes to an hour I can let you go see her. I know your teammates will also want to see her but not all at once,” she says looking back at the conference room.  “Even though she’s asleep I don’t want her overcrowded so no more than three people in her room at a time. She has been set up with a private room in the VIP section so you won’t have to deal with press or fans. I will have a nurse come and take you upstairs when she has been transported back to her room.”

“Thank you…for everything,” Tobin says, as some of the worry that had built up in the past few hours slips away.

“Of course Tobin. It’s my job to get people better and that is all I want to do for Alex.”

Tobin walks back into the room to 30 plus waiting faces, many with tears in their eyes. Lauren is by her side in a second. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

Tobin shook her head, staring at her ring. “She’s out of surgery. She had swelling in her brain but they fixed it. They’re going to keep her under so she can rest and heal.”

Christie walks up to Tobin and hugs her tight. “Have you been able to see her since she was brought in?”

Tobin shakes her head, holding in her tears. “Not since the ambulance.  They said I can once they put her in a room. You guys can see her too. Just not all at once.”

“Are her parents coming?” Kelley asks from behind her.

Tobin nods. “They’re probably on the plane by now.”

“Did the doctor say how long until you could see her?” Lauren asks softly.

“Thirty minutes to an hour.”

Lauren nods, walking out of the room. Most of her teammates come and hug her, whispering words of encouragement. Jill comes over and says that US Soccer is willing to help both of them in any way it can. Lauren walks back in and goes over to Tobin’s bag grabbing some extra clothes and Tobin’s towel.

“Come on Tobs. You’re going to go shower.”

“What?” Tobin raises her voice slightly shocked at Lauren’s comment and shakes her head.

“You’re not going to want to do it once you can see her and you just played 40 minutes. Let’s go.” Tobin wants to argue but the tone of Lauren’s voice tells her it would be pointless. She hangs her head and follows her out the door. She is lead to a bathroom with a shower. “I’ll be right outside” Lauren says before placing the clothes down and walking out the door.

Tobin quickly undresses and hops in the shower. Within ten minutes she is out and drying off. She walks out to find Lauren sitting on the floor, texting, waiting for her.

They walk back towards the room, Tobin now in USA sweatpants and a Nike t-shirt, Alex’s Nike t-shirt. As they approach the door they see a nurse walking out of the room and turn towards them. “Tobin?” she asks when she sees them. Tobin nods. “I can take you to see Alex now if you would like.”

“Yes please” turning to Lauren“come with me?” Lauren puts her arm around Tobin’s shoulder as the nurse closes the door and leads the two to an elevator taking them up two floors. They walk through a series of doors and end up outside a closed wooden door.

“Here we are. The nurse’s station that we just passed can help you with anything if you need it.”

Tobin opens the door while Lauren thanks the nurse. Tobin walks into the room slowly, twirling the new ring on her finger nervously. Her head immediately turned towards the bed and within seconds she’s next to Alex.

There was a white bandage wrapped around part of her head and a few wires coming from various points on her body. Lauren brings a chair over to where Tobin is standing and pushes her down into it. “What can I do?”

“Just be here. Tell me everything will be okay.”

“Tobs,” Lauren says, putting her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder.  “Alex is strong. She always bounces back from injury stronger than she was before. It’s just who she is. She’s competitive and if she gives herself a goal she reaches that goal. She loves you and for that reason alone will pull through this and everything will be okay.”

“Thanks Chen,” Tobin carefully grabs Alex’s hand.  “Can I just have like five minutes alone then people can start coming in.”

“Of course honey. By the time I get back downstairs and bring some people up it will be more than five minutes. I’ll grab your stuff while I’m down there too.”

Tobin just nods her eyes glued to Alex’s face and her hands softly holding Alex’s right hand. Lauren quietly exits the room, walking over to the nurse’s station. She informed them of what is going to happen and they nod. “Just make sure they are quiet considering we have other patients sleeping.” Lauren heads back to the conference room telling the team that they can go see Alex.

They end up pairing off and coming in two at a time since no one wants to kick Tobin out of the room.

They all come in hugging Tobin and telling her they will be there for her, for both of them. They all tell her Alex is strong and will pull through. Abby and Christie are the last two in.

“I can stay Tobin if you need anything,” Abby says.

“No. Go. This was your final game then you were going to be with family and relax on the island. Alex would hate if she screwed up your retirement plans. We can’t forget you if you’re still here.” Tobin tries to joke but can’t even force a smile.  “I’ll let you know if anything comes up.” Abby nods heading over to Alex, taking Christie’s place while she walks over to Tobin.

“Tobin, this entire team is behind you and Alex. We will all be here for you if you need anything. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses. Your family is bigger than just the ones that were on the field today. You have been playing for this team for 8 years plus. You have so many people who love you, who love Alex, and will do anything for both of you. Use those resources. Don’t shoulder this all on own. We want to help but we also want to let you breath and give you space. Remember that we can all give you different viewpoints and help you through this.”

Tobin thanks her as she receives another hug before the two older players leave. Lauren comes back in and kisses Tobin’s cheek. “Do you want me to stay up here or go back down?”

“I want to be alone Chen. Thanks. The team should go celebrate with Abby.”

Lauren nods, giving her a squeeze before walking back out the door.

The next morning most of the team comes through again before their flights, most heading home for the holidays. They all tell Tobin that they will be back if she asks them too. Tobin thoughtfully denies each request and just wishes them safe flights and happy holidays. Lauren visits Tobin every day, bringing her something to eat. 

After the fifth day she sees a nurse eating some lasagna that she had made for Tobin. She could tell because it was the FCKC Tupperware she had put it in. All she gets from Tobin when she comes in red faced was “I’m not hungry Chen. I had a bite but I couldn’t finish it and Chris was hungry.” Lauren just sighs and shares a look with Alex’s parents who sit on the couch beyond Tobin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well...?


	2. Waking Up

"Lex" Tobin croaks out softly as she slides her hand, palm up, under Alex's and laces their fingers together.  "Oh Lex, you can't do this to me.  You can’t leave me.  You need to pull out of this.  You need to wake up."

Tobin wakes up in the chair she had pulled up next to Alex’s bed, the same as she had every other morning since Alex had gotten out of surgery.  Her head resting on the bed and her hand holding Alex's.  Nothing has changed in the seven days between then and now.  She has been outside of the hospital once and that was when Alex's parents had arrived and Kelley had pulled her out to give them some room and to try and give Tobin some fresh air.  Tobin readjusts her position and falls back to sleep.

Alex opens her eyes slowly, confused by her surroundings.  ' _Where am I?  Why is my head pounding?  I must have gone down in a game?  What game was it?  Why don't I remember playing?_ '

Alex looks down, her arm covered in light brown hair. She smiles slightly as she recognizes the sleeping figure as Tobin.  She can feel Tobin holding her hand but can't see their hands or the midfielder’s face since she is turned away and her hair is splayed over everything.  Alex squeezes her hand a few times trying to wake the midfielder.  Nothing.

' _Leave it to her to sleep through my awakening... or whatever this is_ ' Alex thinks, slightly amused.  "Tobin?" Alex hoarsely let out.  Her voice barely audible.  Alex groans internally and tries to lift her other arm, barely getting it an inch off the bed before it falls. ' _What the fuck happened? Why am I so out of it?_ '

"Tobin?" she tries again, this time a bit louder adding a hand squeeze as well.  This seems to cause the midfielder to stir so Alex waits patiently.

Tobin sits up, still holding Alex's hand.  She pushes her hair out of her face and rubs her eyes with her free hand.  She sadly smiles at her hand intertwined with Alex's.  She looks up Alex's arm to look at her face.  It takes her a few moments until her eyes get to Alex's but as soon as they do the sleepiness that plagues her is gone.

"Lex? You're awake?" Tobin says in shock.  She gingerly tucks a piece of hair behind Alex's ear then places her hand on Alex’s cheek.  “I was so scared.”

' _Did she think I wasn't going to wake up?_ '  "What happened?" She asks, her voice still very hoarse and soft.

"Oh doctor. I should get your doctor."  Tobin reaches over and presses the button that would alert the nurse’s station.  Alex stares at Tobin, confused while Tobin strokes her cheeks with her thumb repeating.  "I was so scared I was going to lose you."  After about 30 seconds Alex sees a nurse walk through the door.   

Chris smiles when he walks in, noticing Alex is awake.  “Well hello, Alex. Glad to see you’re awake.” He walks over to the monitor. "Well let’s see.  Okay so your vitals look good.  Let me go get your doctor.  I believe she just got in."  He leaves the room, leaving the door open.

Alex watches him leave but Tobin's eyes stay focused on Alex.  "You can't do that to me Lex" Tobin says as she leans down and kisses Alex's forehead, lingering with her lips pressed against Alex’s skin.  Alex looks up at her confused, opening her mouth but is interrupted before she can say anything.

"Good morning Alex.  I'm Dr. Liu.” She reaches out to shake Alex’s hand.  Alex is able to lift her hand slightly.  “Don’t worry about the weakness.  I’m going to lower the doseages of your meds now that you are awake.”  She moves over to the machines that are hooked up to Alex, pressing some buttons.  “You gave us quite a scare with that head injury." ' _I must have hit my head and that's why I don't remember it happening_ ' "I'm going to run a few preliminary tests but I know you are still tired so I will come back and finish later.  Does that sound good?"

Alex nods her head. "But can you tell me what happened?"

"Oh yes, of course." Dr. Liu says as she walks over to the monitors looking at them real quick before turning towards Alex.  "You knocked your head against a goal post pretty bad in your game last week.  You might not fully remember the incident so that’s okay if you can’t.  We took a scan of your brain when you came in which showed there was some swelling.  Excuse me, Tobin" she say as Tobin backs up and Dr. Liu slides in right next to Alex.  “Sit up for me Alex."  Alex does as she is told with some help and feels the stethoscope against her back.  She pauses for a few seconds before standing up and then places it on her chest.  She straightens up, putting it back in her pocket.  "So we got you to surgery and we were able to drain it, releasing the pressure.  That was a week ago.  We kept you out for five days so your brain could heal.  It took you a little longer than we expected for you to wake up but it sometimes just takes a day or two more.” She grabs a pen light from her pocket flicking the lights in the room off and flashes them into Alex's eyes one at a time.

"I'm going to call your parents Lex.  Let them know you're awake.  They're at a hotel down the street." Alex nods as Tobin leaves the room.

"Okay, can you tell me your name?" Dr. Liu asks.

"Alex Morgan" her voice starting to come back.

"When were you born?"

"July 2, 1989."

"Who just left the room?"

"Tobin Heath."

"Alright.  That all seems good.  I'll send a nurse back in here to help get you more comfortable."

"Thanks" Alex says as Dr. Liu leaves.  She waits alone for a minute before Tobin walks back in.

"They'll be here in a few minutes.  They're so happy you’re awake,” Tobin says coming over to Alex.  She leans down and quickly presses her lips against Alex's.

Alex pulls away, "Tobin, what-"

"Okay Alex” a new nurse says, walking through the door.  “I'm here to get the catheter out of you.  Tobin, do you mind waiting outside, just to give us a little privacy?"

Tobin nods smiling, "I'll be right outside." Squeezing Alex's hand before straightening her back.  Alex looks down at their hands and notices a new ring on Tobin's hand, one she has never seen before.  She doesn't look up from her own hand until she hears Tobin closing the door softly behind her.

A million questions start running through Alex's head.  ' _When did Tobin get engaged? Did she just not tell me or was this while I was out?  It must have been before? Wait. Who is she dating?_ '

Tobin stands outside the door with a huge smile on her face, texting the team that Alex is awake.  She puts her phone in her pocket as she sees Alex's parents running up to her.

Pam hugs her "What's going on? Why aren't you in there with her?" Pam asks nervously, letting go as her husband quickly hugs Tobin.

"They just needed a few minutes to take the catheter out and stuff."  A second later the door opens.

"You can all come back in now.  I'm just going to go get Dr. Liu for another check and we'll be right with you."

Alex's parents rush in, one going to each side of her bed.  Tobin lingers in the doorway letting the two have a private moment with their daughter.  She watches them take turns giving her hugs.

Alex smile looking between them, "I don't remember anything.  I don't even remember the game."

"That's okay sweetie" her dad says.  "It will all come back."  He gives his daughter a smile, hugging her again, as Pam waves for Tobin to come over.

"Where's Servando?  That nurse says she doesn’t know who that is and that he hasn’t been here."  Everyone looks at her confused.  Tobin stops mid step on her way towards the bed.

Alex looks at her parents, both of whom wear a shocked and confused look on their face.  She then looks to Tobin apprehensively still slightly confused by the two kisses she received.  Tobin is spinning the ring on her finger and looking like she has just gotten punched in the gut.

Dr. Liu walks in and heads straight to Alex.  "Okay Alex, I here you have been asking for your boyfriend?"  Tobin clenches her fists at the word boyfriend.

“Uh...yeah.  I just want to know where he is,” Alex says apprehensively.

“Alright well, let me just ask you a few more questions first then we’ll talk about him." Alex nods, not sure why asking for Servando is causing so much commotion. "Do you know who these people are?" The doctor asks, pointing to her parents.

"Yes. That's my mom and dad.

"Okay and the woman near the door."  Tobin looks up, eyes filled with hope.

"That's Tobin.  You already asked me about her."

"And what is your relationship with Tobin."

"She's my friend and teammate on the national team.  We just won the Olympics together" Tobin's face falls and her parents both gasp.  She starts to look towards them but her attention is brought back to Dr. Liu

"Okay, Alex, can you tell me the last thing you remember."

"I was with Servando.  I just got back from camp we went out on a romantic date and then we…uh you know, went to bed.  Does he have a game? Is that why he's not here?"

Dr. Liu looks towards Tobin who is silently shaking in a seat near the door.  Alex's mom notices this too, motioning for her husband to go comfort the girl.  He looks over and nods, walking over and wrapping an arm over her.

Pam then turns back to face Alex who is looking at her dad confused.  "Alex sweetheart," Alex turns to her mom. "You and Servando broke up."

"What? He left me because of my injury?  He would never do that.”

Pam shakes her head, “No Al.  You guys broke up a while ago.  You’re-. It’s-”

“No,” Alex cuts in, anger rising. “We've been having problems since London but we're working through it."

"You guys tried sweetie but you broke up a few days after New Years."

"No we di... Wait. New Years.  It's September or October maybe.  What are you talking about?  It's October right?"

"It's December, Alex." Dr. Liu adds in.  "December, 2015."

"Wait...2015?" she looks over to her mom for confirmation.  Her mom nods.  Alex looks back towards Tobin.  “Tobin?” Tobin looks up at the sound of her name. Alex sees the tears and red eyes.  Forgetting her original question she asks, “Why are you crying?”

“It’s fine, Lex.  Let Dr. Liu finish.”  Tobin says, her voice raw, wiping her face with her sweatshirt sleeve.

Alex turns back to her doctor. “What’s going on?  Why can’t I remember anything?”

“Well you had some swelling which we were able to reduce but that could have affected your memory.  I want to send you for a few scans so we can see what’s going on.  That will maybe let us know if there is anything else that we missed. I’ll go set that up and a nurse will be in to get you when radiology is ready for you.  If anything else comes up just have the nurses page me.”

Dr. Liu leaves as Alex looks around at her mom, dad, and Tobin.  “What’s going on?  Where are we?  Was I injured in a Sounder’s game or something.”

“We’re in New Orleans Alex,” Pam replies.  “You were playing in the final victory tour game from your win at the World Cup.”

“Wait.  I won a World Cup?” Alex smiles for a second before it falters.  “I won and I can’t remember?”

Pam pulls out her phone and shows her the background photo.  A photo of Alex kissing the World Cup with Tobin’s arms wrapped around Alex.  Alex looks up at Tobin who is still being comforted by Mike but only a dried tear streak still remains on her face.  “Tobin?”

She wipes her face again, looking up.  “Yeah Alex?”  Alex doesn’t know what to say, she just shakes her head.  Tobin stands up and moves to her right side, smiling slightly, hopefully.  “Ask me anything, Lex.”  She leans her forearms on the railing, putting her hands together and looking over at Alex.  Alex looks down at the clasped hands, noticing the ring again.

“When did you get engaged?” Tobin’s face drops.

“About two weeks ago,” she says with dread.

“Do I like her?  Did I approve?”

Tobin clenches her fists not sure how to really answer this.  She takes a deep breath.  “Yeah uh... you approved.”

“Do I know her? Like had I met her as of 2012?” Tobin looks at both of Alex’s parents, unsure of how to tell her.  Pam puts her hand on Tobin’s back, rubbing circles.

Tobin takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly.  “It’s you Lex.” Tobin says quietly. Her head down but her eyes still looking at Alex’s face, gauging her reaction.

“Huh?” ‘ _Did she say it was Mew? Mewie’s super straight. Right? Or is it her little sister?_ ’

Tobin gains a little more confidence, grabbing Alex’s hand.  “It’s you Alex.  I am engaged to you.”  ‘ _Wait what? I’m super straight._ ’ “We’ve been dating for like two and a half years.”

Alex shakes her head ‘no’.  Tobin’s shoulders drop.

“Alex, honey, you guys just got engaged.  You were so happy.  I know this is a lot to take in.  It’s okay that you don’t remember.  I just want you to know that it’s true.  I have pictures that you sent me if you want to see them.”

Alex is baffled.  “But... I’m not gay.”  She looks towards Tobin “I love you as a friend, you’re one of my best friends.  I...I’m straight.  I’m sorry”

Tobin just nods.  Her voice cracks as she tries to get the words out. “No Lex.  I’m sorry, it’s a lot to take in. You probably don’t want me here now. I’m just going to go outside.”

“Yeah that might be good,” Alex says while Tobin turns around and walks out, closing the door behind her. She rounds the corner and falls against the wall, sliding to the floor, not being able to hold in the sobs anymore. Her body shakes as she cries.

“Alexandra.  That was not acceptable. I raised you better than that.  I know you just woke up to a lot right now but you need to understand that things have happened that you don’t remember.  You are engaged to Tobin. That woman loves you so much and you basically just stepped on her heart with your cleats.”

“What do you expect Mom.  I went to sleep with my boyfriend of like 5 years and wake up engaged to a woman.  How do you expect me to react to that?” Alex says, raising her voice as much as she can.

“I expect you to react with compassion towards the people that love you,” Pam turns and walks out the door looking for Tobin.

Pam can hear her before she sees her.  She sit down next to Tobin.  “I’m sorry sweetie.  She’ll eventually remember and if not, she fell for you once, you can make her do it again.”  Tobin leans into her, continuing to cry.

~~~

“Daddy?” Alex turns to her father, helpless.  He comes closer and hugs her, feeling his shirt get damp and her frame shaking.  He continues to hold her for twenty minutes until he feels her stop crying and hears even breaths.  He lays her back down against the pillows once he sees she’s asleep.  He pulls a chair up next to the bed and sits down, pulling the book he had been reading off of her night stand.

A few minutes later a new nurse walks into Alex’s room with a wheelchair. Mike stands up walking over to the nurse.  “They’re ready for her in radiology.”

“She just fell asleep.  Can it wait?”

“She can sleep while we run the scans.  It will be about an hour and a half then we will bring her back.”  Mike nods and goes over to his daughter, gently waking her up and helping place her into the wheelchair, being careful not to pull the iv out.  “I’ll be back with her soon,” the nurse says before heading down the hall.

Mike nods as he watches the two leave.  After a minute of staring at the door he walks out in search of his wife and Tobin.  He finds them quickly and smiles at his wife sadly who give him the same smile back.  “Can I get you guys anything?”

Tobin’s head snaps up, surprised by his appearance.  “Why aren’t you with Alex?  She shouldn’t be alone.” Tobin begins to stand up before Mike leans down and places a calming hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay Tobin.  They took her to get the MRI.  She’s with doctors that are figuring out what is wrong.  Right now the person I am more concerned about is you.  I assume you haven’t had anything to eat since I force fed you yesterday afternoon.”  Mike looks at her expectantly until Tobin gives a small, guiltily bob of her head.  “Alright well we are going to all go to the cafeteria and get a late breakfast.  We have some time before she comes back.”  He stands up holding out a hand for Tobin who takes it.  Mike gave her a hard hug before he reaches his hand out for his wife and helps her up too.

Mike keeps his arm around Tobin’s shoulders the entire way to the cafeteria.  He leads her to a table and sit her down.  “I’m going to go get you some food.  You should check your phone.  It’s been constantly vibrating.”  Tobin looked down and fishes her phone out of her pocket.  20 missed calls and 40 new messages. Tobin goes to the missed calls first.  Almost all of them are from Kelley but there were ones from Cap, Sydney, Abby, Cheney, and Ashlyn. Tobin opens her messages and sees that most of them start off with ‘Thank God’ or ‘How is she doing?’ Tobin can’t bear to open them or answer them so she pressed the new message button and types out a quick text to Lauren.

**Tobin: Are you busy?**

She gets a response as Mike and Pam sit down their trays, placing a bowl of cheesy grits in front of Tobin.

**Cheney: For you never.  I was going to head over around noon unless you just wanted to talk.**

**Tobin: I need you here**

**Cheney: I’ll be there in thirty**

Tobin puts her phone down and starts stirring the grits in the bowl in front of her.  “Tobin,” Pam’s soft voice calls out, “you need to eat.”  Tobin nods taking a few bites before she feels something buzz in her pocket.  She pulls out Alex’s phone from her other pocket and sees Kelley calling.  She debates for a second if she should answer or not and finally accepts the call.

“Hold on Kel.”  She stands up from the table and walks a few feet away to a table in the corner of the room and sits down.  “Hi.”

“I was literally ready to hop on a plane and fly back there if you didn’t pick up.  What’s going on?  How is she?”

“No stay with your family Kel.  She’s awake and the doctors don’t seem to be too overly worried about anything.  She’s getting another MRI right now.”

“Why does it sound like you’ve been hard crying all day?  She’s awake.  This isn’t happy crying. What’s wrong?”

Tobin takes a few deep breaths before speaking, “She doesn’t remember...”

“She doesn’t remember what?  The accident?  Isn’t that pretty normal?”

“No Kelley she doesn’t remember me, us, the past two years.  She thinks she’s still with Serv.  She told me she isn’t gay.  Kelley, I basically just got dumped.”

“Tobin…?”

“She doesn’t love me anymore, at least not in a romantic way.  Kelley my whole life revolves around her and she...she’s just gone.”

“She’s not gone Tobin,” Kelley says getting very serious. “She is still very much alive in that hospital.  There is nothing that says she won’t get her memory back.  Does Lauren know?  I think you need someone there with you.” Tobin feels her phone vibrate again in her pocket.

“She’s on her way.  Hey Kel, can you tell the team I am eternally grateful but I kinda just need some time.  Don’t tell them about the memory just yet. I need some time to figure out what’s going on.”

“Of course Tobin.  Call me back today though okay?  Let me know about her MRI or if anything changes?”

Tobin nods “Bye Kel”

“I love you Tobs.  You’ll get through this.  You will always have support.”

Tobin hangs up and walks back to Alex’s parents.  She sits down and continues stirring the grits around her bowl.

~~~

Tobin goes to sit near the front entrance while Alex's parents head back to Alex's room after Tobin is forced to eat a few more bites.

That's where Tobin is when Cheney runs through the door.  "Tobin what's wrong?  You texted saying Alex was awake.  Why aren’t you with her?  Did something happen?"  She pulls Tobin into a tight hug.

Tobin takes a deep breath, then lets it all spill out.  "She doesn't remember us.  She thinks she's still dating Servando."

"Does she remember you at all?"

"Yeah. She thinks it's 2012. After the Olympics.  She sees me as her dumb lesbian best friend. Not the woman who she agreed to marry two and a half weeks ago."

"Do they know if this is permanent?"

"No. They're running more tests. She's probably still out."

"Do you want to go be with her?" Cheney asks motioning towards the elevator.

"Of course I do Chen, but I'm scaring her.  She thinks she's straight and I'm the evil person who turned her gay?  I just need to give her some space.  It's what she needs.  What I want doesn't matter."

"First off, you did _not_ turn her gay.  You showed her what love is.  And second, what you want does matter, Tobs.  Let's go see her.  I want to see her and maybe I can help."  Lauren leads her to the elevator and pushes the button for Alex's floor.

They approach the room just as Dr. Liu is leaving.  "Hi Lauren, Tobin."

Lauren smiles, "Hi Dr. Liu.  How did the tests go?" Dr. Liu looks to Tobin, who nods her head before she starts talking.

"Well basically everything looks good on our end but the brain is a tricky thing.  We don't know everything and sometimes things happen that we can't explain.  Alex may gain back all of her memory, none of it, or just bits and pieces.  Only time really will tell.  She slept through most of the scans so she should have a few hours in her, just nothing too major."

"Of course. Thank you," Lauren says as she guides Tobin into the room. She leaves Tobin near the door when she can feel the younger midfielder’s body tense.  "Hey superstar.  Heard you're awake."

Alex looks up from her parents and her face grows into a huge grin.  "Cheney" she says excitedly, her voice still a little hoarse.  "Or is it Holiday now?"  Alex’s eyes dart to Lauren’s left hand.

Lauren walks over hugging her.  "Officially it's Holiday but no one calls me that except the announcers. I'm actually retired though as of October so announcers really won’t be calling my name anyways.  I live here with Jrue, he plays for the Pelicans."

"Wait you retired?" Lauren sits on the edge of Alex's bed.  Tobin walks over to the table in the corner of the room as quietly as possible, trying to not draw attention to herself.  Alex doesn't notice her or does a very good job pretending she doesn't.  Her parents on the other hand both notice and go sit at the table too.  Making small talk with each other while Tobin sits there playing with the ring on her finger.

"Yes we actually had a lot of people retire during the victory tour. Lori Chalupni retired with me."

"Wait Lori came back? They let her? That's amazing."

"Yeah she did, um Boxxy retired in October too and Abby just retired at this past game."

"What? No. She can't retire yet.  That's not...no. I didn’t get enough time,” Alex says sadly.  “Wait I got injured in her last game.  I ruined her last game for her."  Alex starts to cry causing Tobin to look up.  Within seconds she is next to Alex holding her close.

"Shh, shh don't cry. You didn't ruin it.  Abby has always been so proud of you.  She expects you to break all of her records.  She just wants to ride off into the sunset and have little super athlete babies and save the world.  She's so proud of everything you have done.  We all are."

Alex sniffles while Tobin tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear.  Alex smiles at Tobin then stiffens as she remembers they are technically engaged and this wasn't a friend to friend interaction.

Tobin senses Alex's uncomfortableness immediately and backs up.  "Oh, uh...Sorry." She turns around and goes back to the table sitting down and resuming the nervous twisting of the ring on her finger.

Alex watches her, she wants to comfort her best friend but doesn't know how.   _'I don't want to lead her on._ ' She turns back to Cheney who is watching Tobin with pain in her eyes.  "So did anyone else retire."

Lauren looks backs to Alex "Well a lot of people have since 2012 but from our World Cup team, no.  Um... Bue finally went off to med school. We got a new league and it's looking strong for its fourth year.  We just added an Orlando team..." Lauren continues to tell Alex about all that has changed.

Tobin feels her pocket vibrate and pulls out her phone, nothing.  She pulls out Alex's phone and sees it's Kelley calling.  She stands up leaving the room.  "Hey Kel.  Still no memory."

"That's okay Tobs. It might take some time.  What did the doctor say?"

"That it might never come back.  She’s fine, just her memory is...  Cheney is in there right now recapping the last three years.  I hugged her and it's like I can't even do that anymore.  It makes her too uncomfortable."

"You’ve got to give her time.  She basically just got in a time machine and went forward three years of her life.  She is going to need you for a lot because she doesn't know any of her new life.  Just let time take its course."

"When did you become so smart?”

“Well I did go to Stanford sooo...”

“Okay ya big tree.  I'm going to give her, her phone back so call mine if you want to talk to me."

"Good idea Tobs.  There are a ton of pics of the two of you together so that might help her see how happy she was with you."

"That doesn't solve the problem that she thinks she’s straight."

"Is anyone really fully straight?   Sexuality is a spectrum.  We just need to get her some glasses so she can see the rainbow."  Kelley laughs at her own joke.

"Deep Kel. I'm going to go now. Bye."

"Later loser.  Tell her I love her and she can call me."

"Will do."


	3. Let the Games Begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun rewatching the games while writing these parts.

When Tobin walks back in the room she hears Lauren telling a funny story about Ryan, Amy's son, from when he was born.  Tobin walks over to Alex and hands her the phone.  "Uh this is yours.  Kelley said to let you know that she loves you and call her if you want."

Alex grabs it, careful not to touch Tobin.  "Thanks."  She looks at it for a second pressing the side button.  "Um what's my password."

Tobin takes a step forward.  "Just put your thumb right on the circle and it should open.  But if you’re wearing gloves or something the code is 0529."

Lauren smiles at this but Alex looks confused.  "0529? Did I just pick random numbers?  What is that?"

"It’s kinda special, I guess, or at least it was." Tobin spins the ring on her finger looking at the phone in Alex's hand.  "It's my birthday and uh... the first time we kissed."  Tobin’s cheeks heat slightly causing her to look down.  "You can change it so it easier to remember.  The date doesn't really mean much now I guess." Alex watches Tobin, wanting to comfort her but also wanting to keep her distance.  Lauren stands from the edge of the bed sensing the awkwardness.

"Alex why don't you call Kelley back.  I'm sure she has some stories that I don't know about.  Ask her about her goal, she’ll know what I’m talking about."  Lauren grabs Tobin and leads her outside.  Closing the door then pulling Tobin into her and holding tight.

Alex looks at her phone, first just holding her thumb to the button.  Once it opens she presses the hold button and this time tries the password. 0-5-2-9. Her phone opens again.  This time she looks at the background she has set.  It's a picture of what she thinks is Tobin standing with her back to her, on a beautiful beach in a bikini.  She pressed her contacts button and find Kelley's number.  She looks over at her parents who are still talking and then presses the call button.

"Hello?"

"Kelley?"

"OH MY GOD ALEX!"

Alex holds the phone away from her ear, "Take it down a notch Kel.  Still have a headache over here."

"Ooh sorry" Kelley stage whispers.  "You just really scared all of us.  We were worried about you.  But you’re awake now and memory isn't that important."

“It’s kinda important,” Alex quips.

“Eh. You can ask me anything and I’ll remember for you,” Kelley responds as if she had solved the problem.

"I'm hurting Tobin though.  I don't want to lead her on and I don't know how to do that and be her friend."

"Just be her friend like you used to.  That’s what you were in 2012. Let it happen again.  Tobin wants you to be happy and will do anything to make that happen," ‘ _ even if it kills her _ ,’ Kelly adds to herself.

"Yeah, okay.”  Alex says, wanting to change the subject. She thinks for a second then says, “so I hear you need to tell me about some awesome goal."

"Oh my god.  It was so amazing. I was like a ninja.  Carli crossed it across the face of the goal and I just came in with a flying kick and knocked it in. My first goal, in the semis and against Germany. It gave us a 2-0 lead.  It was incredible you need to watch it.  Actually,” Kelley contemplates, “you should watch all the games.  It might jog your memory."

"That's a good idea Kel.  I'll see if I can find them somewhere."

"Ask Tobin. She has them on her computer."  Alex stays silent.  "Friends, Alex, you can do it."

Alex leans her head back into the pillow, "Okay Kel. I'll try."

"Call me if you need any more advice.  Later Alex."

"Bye, Kelley." Alex hangs up the phone.

Alex put her phone down on the table next to her bed, turning towards her parents.  "Hey mom.  Do you have the World Cup games for me to watch?"

"No sweetie but Tobin has them on her computer.  Do you want to watch them now?"

"It's fine. I don't want to bother her."

"It's no trouble. Her computer is in her suitcase.  She said we could use it since we didn’t really have time to pack before we left." Pam stands up and walks to the couch picking up a bag that is next to it.  ‘ _ Why isn’t her stuff in a hotel?’ _ She opens the top pouch and pulls out a laptop with stickers all over the cover.  She places it on the table at the end of the bed and wheels it over to Alex so it’s across her lap.  She opens the lid and powers it up.  A picture of Alex wrapped in an American flag with Tobin is set as the background, both of them holding out their medals to the camera while they kiss. Alex can see the happiness on both of their faces and has to look away while her mom opens the World Cup folder.

"I assume you want to go in order.”  Alex nods and Pam turns on the Australia game.  "You were coming off a knee injury so you weren't getting too much playing time at the start."  Alex nods and tunes into the game.

Twenty minutes in her dad walks over and tells her, "I'm going to go pick up some lunch.  Dr. Liu said you were free to eat anything so is there anything specific you want?" 

Alex shakes her head. "Surprise me."  Mike nods and walks out.  He find Tobin and Lauren sitting in some chairs near the elevator. 

"I'm going to go look for something to pick up for lunch.  Do you guys want something?"

"What’s Alex getting?" Tobin asks.

"She told me to surprise her.  She's not on a restricted diet so I’m just going to stop at the first place I find unless you guys have an idea."

"If you’re just going to get anything then let me go get it.  We found a place that she loved when we first got here.  It might take me a bit but it's worth it to have a good first meal.  I'll just get a bunch of stuff and we can eat it later tonight too," Tobin rambles with a small smile forming on her face.  The first real smile since Alex had asked about Servando.

Mike nods reaching into his pocket, pulling out his wallet.  "No, no, no.  I got this." Tobin says, seeing where he was going.  "I'll be back in like an hour."

Lauren looks at her friend nervously, "I'm going to stay here and keep Alex entertained, unless you need some help."

"Nope I'm good. Thanks Chen."

Lauren walks with Mike back to the room stopping him and saying, "I'm scared Alex is going to break her heart."  Mike turns to Lauren, sadness in his eyes.

"So am I."

They walk in to find Alex getting angry at the computer.  "Woah there baby horse.  Whatcha watching?"

"The Australia game," Alex responds, eyes only lifting from the screen for half a second.

"Of course. Get knocked out in a game, have surgery, come out of a medically induced coma, lose years of memory and within six hours you are watching soccer games and getting worked up.”  Lauren sits down on the bed next to Alex.  “I hate this game.  The ref was on a power trip.” 

“Yeah some of the calls are a little much.  What happens?  Does she not call something?”

“No she flipping gives me a yellow,” Lauren watches the screen, “in a few minutes actually, then she gives Pinoe one a bit later.”

“Aw poor baby,” Alex coos.

“Just wait.  You’ll see.” Lauren states.

They sit in silence for a while, taking in the game.

Alex breaks the silence, “So how are these newbies.  Johnston seems-”

“Wait it’s right here,” Lauren interrupts, pointing at the screen.  They both watch the game intently.  “See that was barely anything.  Not a yellow card worthy foul.   _ Maybe _ a free kick.  Anyways yeah we have some great younger players. JJ is amazing.  This is her first real year.  She took over for Christie when she got injured at the Algarve and has been a beast ever since.”

“Wait is Christie’s still playing?  How old is she?”

“Yep. She won her second World Cup.  She’s 40.  She’s still going strong and can play 90 plus.  Well actually she just got injured but it’s nothing major like Pinoe.  She should be back in a few months.  She’ll probably retire after the Olympics though, at least internationally.”

Alex watches herself come onto the screen, “I look old,” she says as Tobin then appears on screen warming up.  A few seconds later, “GOOALLL,” Alex cheers.  “Damn that was a beauty.”

They sit for a few minutes Lauren points to the screen,  “Watch this one.  This is a lot worse.”  Pinoe runs towards a player and gets tripped up by the Australian player as she falls.  A whistle blows and after Pinoe stands up a yellow card is issued to her. 

“How was that a yellow? And definitely not on Pinoe.” Megan laughs on the screen then heads over to the official.  “Typical Pinoe,” Alex chuckles as the blonde pulls on the ref’s badge.

Alex listens to the announcers talk about her.  Taking in what they are saying.  She then sees Tobin come on screen coming in for Christen.  “She’s really improved since London, hasn’t she?”

Lauren nods.  “She’s even more unbelievable on the ball.” Alex watches as Tobin comes on the screen again yelling for Lauren.  Her stomach then growls and Alex looks towards her dad remembering he was going out.

“I thought you were going to get food.”

“Tobin said she would go get it.  She had something special in mind for your first meal.”  Alex nods, wishing this was just her being a best friend and not a fiancé.  Alex turns back towards the game.

Twenty minutes after the first game is over Tobin walks back into the room struggling to hold three full bags of food.  Alex looks up from the Sweden game and watches her walk over to the table.  Lauren notices this and pauses the game, watching Alex.  Tobin looks through the bags and pulls out two sandwiches.  She walks over to the bed and hands one to each of them.  She sees a game on her computer,  “Which game is this?”  she asks as she bends her head, looking closer at the screen.  “Ah, tough game,” she says before either can respond.  She walks back over to the table and pulls out a few containers and silverware bringing them back over and sitting them on the table next to her computer.  She looks towards Alex, biting her lip slightly before softly asking, “Can I watch with you guys?”

Alex thinks about what Kelley said before answering, “Of course.  It’s your computer, you should be allowed to watch yourself kick some ass on your own computer.”

Tobin smiles pulling her chair up to its usual spot but not yet sitting. “I didn’t actually play in this game but I do get a few on camera appearances from the bench.”  Tobin says as she walks back to the table.  “The camera just can’t get enough of me.”  She pulls out the rest of the food and looks towards Alex’s parents  “I didn’t know what you guys would want so I just grabbed a few different ones and a bunch of sides.”

“What are they?” Pam asked as she grabs a container of mac’n’cheese.

“They’re po’boys.  Basically it’s a really good sandwich.”  Tobin grabs half of one and three paper plates walking back to Alex and Lauren.  She presses play on her laptop right as Hope kicks a long goal kick.  They all dig in.

“Oh my god this is so good,” Alex moans as she takes another bite. Tobin smiles but doesn’t dare to look at her, her eyes on the game as Sydney goes down.  Alex looks at Tobin real quick.  “Good choice Tobs.” Tobin just nods, grunting through a mouth full of food trying to hide the smile.

“So Morgan Brian’s pretty good too,” Alex says as Morgan gets the ball. 

Lauren nods, “She’s only 22 and she’s amazing.”  Tobin snickers as she swallows.  “Shut up Toby, you love her too. She is basically a younger you”

“Yeah but she’s  _ your  _ little protégé.”

“What can I say?  I needed to pass down my epic skill to someone.”  Alex laughs at their interaction. ‘ _ Some things never change. _ ’ They sit in silence for a while, eating and watching the game.  Tobin reaches across the computer grabbing the mac’n’cheese.  Alex stares at the ring on Tobin’s ring finger.  A twisted silver band, small diamonds going down one of the twists focused around a large round diamond.  It was simple yet unique.  It was Tobin. Alex continues to stare as Tobin brings her hand back and scoops some onto her plate and then picks up her sandwich again.  Tobin is oblivious, her eyes not leaving the screen, but Cheney notices. 

After a minute Alex turns back to the screen and sees Ali.  “I’m glad Kriegs was able to come back from her ACL.  That headband is kinda...big though...is that some new way of ball control when heading?”

“No it’s concussion prevention,” Tobin answers, chewing her food simultaneously, “she got a bad one right before and some company made that one especially for her.  It got pretty nasty by the end of games and she would ditch it.  Those stadiums were hot cause of the turf.  She said it didn’t affect her headers though.”  Alex nods putting her food down and laying her head back.   Tobin looks over at her and then reaches over, pausing the game.  “We can watch the rest later, Lex.  Get some rest.  You’ve had a hectic day.”  Alex nods as Tobin moves the table holding the laptop and food.  Cheney gets up and Tobin grabs the remote to lower Alex’s bed from a sitting position to a flat position.   Tobin then grabs the blankets tucking Alex in.  “You get to watch Cheney’s finger wag when you wake up.  It’s hilarious,” Tobin says with a smile before leaning down and kissing Alex’s forehead. Then she quickly stands up looking down at the floor stuttering, “Sorry Alex.  Uh sleep well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatcha think?


	4. Texting the Ex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad y'all seem to be enjoying this. I hope not to screw it up too much although I already don't plan on doing something that's in the comments.

When Alex wakes up, she sees her parents sitting at the table, both of them reading books.  There is no light coming from the window outside and only a small corner light near the table is on so her parents can see.

Alex stretches causing her parents to look up.  Mike stands up and goes over to kiss her forehead.  “Hey sleepyhead.  You’ve been out for hours. You slept through dinner.  Are you hungry?”

Alex thinks for a second and then nods through a yawn.  She looks around while her dad goes over to the small fridge and pulls the food out.  She notices Tobin’s bag is gone.  “Where’s Cheney and Tobin?”

“Lauren finally convinced her to leave the hospital.  She’s been here since you came in.  Barely left the room.  Lauren took her home so that she would hopefully eat something and to do her laundry.” He places her sandwich down and moves the table over then helping her sit up.  “Do you want to watch the game again?”

Alex nods as her father grabs the laptop from the couch and hands it to her.  Alex turns the computer on, preparing herself to see the picture that she can’t remember taking and wishes didn’t exist.  She quickly opens the soccer folder and picks the Sweden game.  After getting it cued up to the right spot she presses play and grabs her sandwich.  A few minutes later she almost starts choking as Lauren shakes her finger at a Sweden player after getting fouled.

“You alright sweetie?” Pam asks, setting her book down and bringing over some water.

Alex nods and takes a sip, “Thanks mom.”  She grabs her phone, using her thumb to open it and sends a text to Lauren.

**Baby Horse: Shanaynay finger wag was priceless**

Alex decides to look through her phone keeping the game in her peripheral.  She scrolls through her contacts not knowing a lot of the names in it.  She gets to ‘s’ and stops when Servando’s name comes up.

“Ma?”

“Yes sweetie?”

“How did things end with Servando?  Are we still friends?  Do we hate each other?”

“I wouldn’t say you’re friends but you don’t hate each other.”  Alex nods opening up a new text, taking a few minutes to figure out what to say.

**Alex: Hey Serv.  How are you?**

She gets two texts at once.

**ChenChen: I have no idea what you are referring to ;)**

**Serv: Hey Alex.  I’m good but aren’t you the injured one?**

**Alex: Yeah. But I’m getting better**

**Serv: Well what do I owe the pleasure of this text to?**

Alex stares down at the screen typing out a few different things and erasing them before finally settling on a text and hitting send.

**Alex: I’m having some memory trouble and was wondering if you could maybe tell me what went wrong with us.**

**Serv: What do you mean memory trouble?**

**Alex: I don’t remember our break up**

**Alex: I don’t remember anything from after September 2012**

**Serv: Wow. Seriously?  I’m sure Tobin knows more than me about the time between then and now.**

Alex groans while she quickly types out another text.

**Alex: Maybe but I’m asking you. Can you help me?**

**ChenChen: Make sure you’re paying attention in like the 75** **th** **minute.  Amazing save.**

**Baby Horse: Do I play in this game?**

**Serv: Sure. What do you want to know?**

**ChenChen: Yeah you play**

**Alex: What went wrong? Between us**

**Serv: It’s more that nothing was going right.  Ever since London you were so busy.  You didn’t have enough time for us.**

**Serv:  We lived together but I never saw you.  We just didn’t do long distance well anymore.  We tried working through things but it just didn’t work**

**Serv: We mutually agreed that we would take a break through the holidays and after that we decided that breaking up officially was the best thing for us.**

**Alex: It was mutual?**

**Serv: Yes**

Alex looks at the computer screen, focusing on it when she realizes this is around the time Lauren told her to watch.  After two minutes there’s a corner kick called.  Alex watches the shot head towards goal passing Hope and then bounce out after Meghan jumps up.  “Holy crap that was amazing.  Was that really not a goal?”  Her parents look up and chuckle as Alex waits for a replay, amazed at Meghan’s save once again as they reshow the jump.  Alex then sees herself on the field.  She watches for a few more minutes and then turns back to her phone.

**Alex: Are you happy?**

**Serv: I loved you Alex but we both moved on.  You’re engaged and I’ve been dating someone for a while.**

Alex frowns at this.  Even though he hasn’t technically been her boyfriend in years she gets very jealous seeing him say he’s happy with someone else. She starts tearing up, pushing the table away forcefully.

Pam is by her side in a second “What’s wrong Alex?  Do you want me to get a nurse?”

“Serv is dating someone else.” Pam sighs, sliding onto the bed next to her daughter.

“Oh sweetie it’s okay.  I know this is hard for you.”

“Mom, to me he’s still my boyfriend.  We’re not at a great spot but I still love him.  I just want him to come hold me and make it all better.”

~~~

Tobin walks out of the elevator her bag around her back as she walks past the nurse’s station.  “Hey Chris” she says holding her hand out for a high five.  He looks up at Tobin, slapping his hand against hers with a smile.

“Finally left her room I see.  That’s a first. Oh and you showered.  Thank the lord.  You were stinking up the whole floor.  The nurses were about to flip a coin to see who had to give you a sponge bath.”

Tobin leans over the counter and slaps his shoulder before handing him a few saran wrapped cookies Lauren had made. She turns her head to the door then back to Chris, “Do you know if she’s awake?”

“I heard some shouting coming from her room a while ago so I assume she’s watching the games again,” he says amused.

“Oh. We both start in the next game.  Hopefully she isn’t there yet.  I’ll see you later.”

Tobin knocks on the door gently before opening it and peaking her head around the door.  She sees Alex hugging her mom crying.  “Uh should I come back?”  Alex looks up, wiping her eyes.

“No. It’s fine,” Alex says, wiping her face again.  She notices the computer in her peripheral, her eyes darting to it as Tobin’s screen saver filters through the many pictures she has.  She looks back at Tobin, forcing a small smile.  “I was just about to start the next game.  Do you want to watch?”

“Um yes,” Tobin responds dramatically, trying to lighten the gloomy mood she had walked into.  “We both start and it was amazing.  Well you were.  I messed up a few times but still amazing.  I’m glad you didn’t watch it without me.”

Tobin pulls the chair that she has basically lived in the past week up to the bed and sits down next to Alex.

They watch the game, cheering together and Tobin making sure Alex is watching when she knows a good play is coming soon.  Alex nudges Tobin when her face is big on the screen as she takes a throw in.

After a while, Alex’s parents stand up.  “We’re going to head back to the hotel unless you want us to stay, Lex.”

“No you guys go.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They both come over and give her a hug and kiss goodnight before going over to Tobin.  Alex watches how they treat Tobin like their fourth daughter.

“Do you want to come back with us tonight now that Alex is awake?” Pam asks the midfielder.

Tobin shakes her head, glancing at Alex through her peripheral. “I’d rather stay here.  Just in case she needs something or remembers or something,” she replies, her voice trailing off towards the end.

“At least take the couch this time,” Mike adds in before giving her a hug as well. Tobin nods, glancing to the couch along the wall.

Alex turns towards the computer screen when she hears the announcers talking about her. She hears the door close as her parents leave and takes a deep breath as she sees Tobin scoot her chair closer to the bed, leaning against the railing.  Her arms crossed and supporting her chin on the plastic bar.  Her diamond ring sparkling on her finger, taunting Alex.  Alex looks to her face noticing how tired she looks.  In the next few minutes she notices Tobin’s eyes begin to open and close a little more frequently.  Within 15 minutes she could see Tobin’s head fall against her arms.  She watches the game for a few more minutes and watches Tobin get fouled.  She pauses it when a yellow card comes out. She grabs her phone again off the table before closing the computer and pushing the table to the side.  

Taking a deep breath she taps out a text quickly.  Her finger hovers over the send button for a few moments before she pushes down, releasing the text.

**Alex: What if I wasn’t engaged?**

It takes a few minutes for him to respond.  Alex spends the entire time staring at the ring on Tobin’s finger.  The vibration from the phone in her hand brings her back

**Serv: Alex we didn’t work out.  That would just happen again if we got back together.  You love Tobin.  Just give yourself time to remember that.**

**Alex: I’m not a lesbian Serv.  I like guys.**

**Serv: Love is about the person Alex, not the gender.  You told me that.**

Alex groans and puts her phone down while pressing the button to lower her bed.  She glances at Tobin before rolling over and within minutes she is also out.

Tobin wakes up to a buzzing.  She blindly reaches over grabbing for the phone and bringing it to her face. She blinks at the partial message that is shown on the lock screen.  Her eyes eventually are able to focus through the bright light to make out the message.

**Serv: Alex you don’t have to be with Tobin if you don’t want to. I…**

Tobin puts the phone back down.  She gets up and walks to the couch, picking up the blanket that had been draped there a week ago and still had yet to be used.  She pulls it around herself and starts silently crying into the pillow.  ‘I _’m losing her and I can’t do anything to stop it._ ’

~~~

The next few days go by quite the same.  Alex is limited by Dr. Liu to one game per day and only in 20 minute increments after Abby’s goal in the Nigeria game caused her heart rate to shoot up way too high, sending all the machines into a beeping frenzy.

She Skyped with her sisters twice each, both calls lasting a minimum of two hours getting caught up on their lives.

Alex also starts getting up and taking walks around the hospital.  She doesn’t realize Christmas had come and gone until she sees a newborn baby girl and heard her dad say she was a Christmas miracle. ‘ _I ruined everyone’s holiday._ ’

She is sitting in bed watching the clock.  She has a few more minutes until she can watch the next part of the game.  It’s against Columbia and even though Alex knows they eventually go on to win in the final she is still anxious to see every moment leading up to it.  Tobin has really hyped up this game saying something great happens in the second half.  Lauren is already sitting the next game due to the second yellow she had been given.  They had the game paused at the 35th minute because Tobin was somehow convinced that the starting lineup counted as part of the twenty minutes.  She watches the clock as she hears the door open.

“Wow Lex. Little eager there to watch yourself huh.” Alex smiles as she turns to see Tobin walking in.

“Shut up Heath.  Did you bring the popcorn?” Tobin nods holding up the bag of freshly popped popcorn and some chocolate.

“Of course.  Now let’s get this party started.”  She sits down and reaches over to her computer, pressing play.

They sit in silence for a bit.  Things are still awkward at times but Tobin is getting better at keeping the physical touches and kisses to herself.  It gets a little awkward when they see a lingering touch or a quick kiss after a game on screen and even more so when Alex made a good play and Tobin had mistakenly said ‘good meg, babe’, but they both ignored it.  That’s how most things were going, if something weird happens, they just ignore it.

Alex gets a little vocal five minutes in when Megan gets her own second yellow card.  Tobin puts her hand over Alex’s “Calm down Lex or your time will be shortened even more and we’ll have to watch the game in 10 second increments.”  Alex immediately stops when Tobin touches her hand.

“But that wasn’t even a yellow.  These refs are literally only calling fouls on the two people that already have a yellow.”

Tobin nods and says nothing until the half is called.  Alex looks at Tobin, her face stern, “Okay half time doesn’t count as time.  I get to watch till the 55.”

Tobin chuckles. “Okay would you like to watch halftime? It’s shortened to like a minute or two with just the recaps.”

“Sure.” They sit through the small banter of the few minutes that make up halftime on the video.

“Okay this first minute is pretty hectic,” Tobin says as the game resumes. They watch and right at the end of the first minute Alex watches herself go down.  She then watches a red card get pulled out.

“Was that my play?  Falling down then we get the game winning goal from it?”

Tobin chuckles, “Just watch.”

Alex watches Abby line up behind the ball. “Come on Abby, you got this.”  The whistle blows and Alex leans in in anticipation, falling back into her pillow seconds later, her arms flailing dramatically. “Nooo. Ugh.” Tobin chuckles at her.  A few minutes later Alex watches Tobin slip into the boards.  “Did that hurt?”

Tobin shakes her head.  “I don’t even remember that happening.  Those boards are painful though.  Wait until the Germany game.  You got really worked up at that one. Oh pay attention. This is the play.”

Alex watches herself intently. She passes the ball away then gets it back, turning towards goal and after a one touch, kicking it in.  It sails past the keeper and over the goal line. She raises her arms in the air.  “Fuck yeah. Is that the game winner? Was that the only goal?”

“Calm down Lex,” Tobin says, her eyes flicking over to the monitors and watching Alex’s heartbeat increase slightly.  A corner is called soon after and Tobin reaches over pausing the game.

“What? No Tobin. Please.  I’ll stay calm.  I promise.  Let me just watch a little bit more.”  Alex grabs Tobin’s hand, begging.  This is the first time Alex has initiated any sort of touch since waking up.  Tobin stares at their hands.

“I-uh-I can’t Lex,” Tobin stutters.  “Doc’s orders.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll see if we can work it up to 30 minutes.  What do you want to do with this free hour we have?  Take a walk?”

“Can we play some Monopoly Deal?” Alex pleads.

Tobin smiles “I think that would be worse than watching a game.  You get way too worked up. Let’s take a walk again.  Do you want to push me in a wheelchair?”

“Why do you need a wheelchair? Did you hurt yourself sitting there?”

“No, but all these walks are tiring and I figure since I’m only taking them because of you, you should have to carry my weight.”

Alex laughs, “and where are we going to get a wheelchair?”

“Ye of little faith.  Do you need help getting up?” Alex shakes her head and then watches Tobin dart out of the room.  Alex slowly gets out of bed and slips on her Nikes just in time to hear a knock at the door.  She walks over, opening it.  She looks down to see Tobin sitting in a wheelchair. Alex shakes her head and steps around Tobin, closing the door.

She grabs the back of the chair and starts pushing.  She chews on her lip as they walk.  “Hey Tobin?”

Tobin turns in her chair, facing Alex with a big smile “Yeah Lex?”

“I was just wondering how long you planned on staying here?  I heard you talking to your mom earlier.  I’m sure your family misses you.”

Tobin’s face drops, “Oh... um I…I can leave.  Sorry.  I didn’t mean to be a bother.”

Alex shakes her head “No that’s not what I meant.”  Alex chews on her lip for a second before continuing, “My parents were thinking about going home soon since I’m awake and doing well.  I just,” Alex takes a deep breath, “I just didn’t want to be alone.” Tobin doesn’t respond, staring up at Alex.  Alex can’t decipher the look Tobin is giving her and gets nervous.  “They could totally stay though.  Or Jen and Jeri could come.”

Tobin shakes her head “I’m not going anywhere Lex. Until you tell me otherwise I will always be here.”  Alex smiles knowing there is more meaning behind the statement but just happy to have someone with her.

“So where are Olympic qualifiers this year?” she asks changing the subject.

Tobin smiles, “Texas.  Why?  Do you plan on playing in them?”

Alex nods, “Of course.”  Tobin assumes she is joking but Alex’s face is dead serious.

They pass Dr. Liu in the hall.  “Just the two soccer stars I was looking for.  I was wondering if you had figured out your plans for after your lovely stay at my beautiful hotel.”

Both Tobin and Alex chuckle as Tobin turns to look at Alex. “We have the house in Portland or we could go stay with your parents in Cali, they already offered for when you can leave.”  Alex notices how she says ‘we’ and grips the wheelchair a little tighter.  Tobin understands Alex’s sudden change in demeanor and rambles, correcting herself, “I mean only if you wanted me to come.  You of course could go by yourself.  Camp starts at the beginning of the month so I wouldn’t be there too long anyways, though camp is close to your house.”

Alex looks up towards Dr. Liu, “I’m not sure yet. Why?”

Ignoring the awkward exchange, Dr. Liu begins, “well I think you only need a bit more time here then I want to set you up with outpatient check-ins.  I just need to know where to look to find the right doctor.  Is it a safe bet that you will either end up near Portland or LA?”

Alex nods, “Most likely.”

“Okay. I know of a good one in Portland and I have a few friends from med school outside of LA so you should be set either way.”

“So when will she be released?” Tobin asks.

“I’d say about a week.  Let’s see it’s Saturday, so maybe Thursday or Friday.”  She looks between the two of them before adding in, “that is only if you keep doing everything we talked about.  Nothing getting your heart rate too high and I want to get one last scan of your brain before you leave.”

They both nod and then Alex asks, “Does this mean we can’t bump up the amount of time per game to 30 minutes?”

Dr. Liu laughs, “I’ll make you a deal.  For today keep it at 20 and if all goes well you can watch the games in full.  But keep it to one a day.”

Alex jumps excitedly, going over to hug Dr. Liu, “Oh my god. Thank you.”  The doctor shakes her head and walks off amused after patting Alex on the back.  Alex grabs Tobin’s wheelchair and quickly spins it around on two wheels, rushing to the elevator.

Tobin grips the armrests, her knuckles turning white.  “Slow down Lex,” Tobin says through gritted teeth. “Where’re we going?”

“It’s been an hour. It’s game time.” Tobin chuckles as they get in the elevator and ride it in silence to their floor.”  They watch the next twenty minutes of the game. Alex decides she wants to play hangman to pass the time.  Forty-five minutes into their hour long break, Alex’s parent’s walk in the door with a pizza box.

“Ooh pizza.”  Tobin hops up grabbing the box from Pam and pressing her lips quickly against her cheek.  She then gives Mike a quick one armed hug.  She sets it down on the table getting a slice and putting it on a plate, bringing it to Alex.  She then goes back and gets one for herself.  “I’m so lucky you can eat real food Lex, because if you were on a cardboard and jello diet I think I would die.”

“Only I would have to eat it loser.  You could still pig out every day.”

Tobin holds her hand to her heart. “Et tu Lexus,” pretending to fall face first onto the bed.  She turns her head towards Alex.  “I wouldn’t gloat my pizza in front of you.”

“So chivalrous.  Now I just get to watch you stuff three slices into your mouth.”

“Children, quit bickering,” Mike says with a smile.  “Is it game time?”

“Ten more minutes,” Alex responds before taking a bite, not even needing to look at the clock.  Tobin shakes her head at the forward.

They eat for the remaining ten minutes, making small talk until they can turn the game back on.  “So Dr. Liu said Alex can go home in about a week.”

“That’s amazing sweetie,” Pam says hugging Alex.  “Do you know where you’re going to go?”

“I haven’t decided yet.  I want to figure out how long until I can start playing again. Maybe I can practice with the team for a few days.”

“Woah, Lex, slow down.  It’s going to take time.” Tobin says, swallowing the bite she just took.

“No Tobin I can’t slow down.  I don’t have time.  It’s going to be an Olympic year.  I need to get back out there.”

“There is no way you’re going to be ready for qualifiers.”

“Okay so maybe I won’t be ready to play in qualifiers.  Jill said if I get cleared and can prove myself I can still make the Rio team.”

“What? When did you talk to Jill?”

“The other day.  She texted me asking how everything was going so I called her.  I explained the situation and she said as long as I was cleared and ready there was no reason I wouldn’t be allowed to play.”

Tobin now feels like she actually has been stabbed in the back.  “When were you going to tell me?” she weakly asks.

“I don’t have to tell you anything Tobin.  Yes you are my friend but that’s it” Alex says loud and angry.  And now the knife had been twisted.

“Okay Lex.” Tobin says dejectedly.  “I’m gonna take a walk,” she stands up and walks out the door, eyes trained to the spot in front of her eyes.  She mopes around the hospital, getting a few texts from Alex’s parents.  She lets them know she’s okay and just needs some time alone.  She finds herself on the roof, laying down and staring up at the sky lit up by the city lights.  She watches as the sun sets and the moon rises.  She ignores the two calls she gets from Kelley and Lauren but looks at the text she gets from Alex’s mom.

**Pammy: Alex is asleep and we’re going to head out.  I left the hotel key on the table with the rest of the pizza.  It’s room 341. The extra bed is just going to waste.**

She responded with a ‘thanks’ and slowly heads back down to Alex’s room.  She softly knocks and pokes her head in, seeing the darkened room she slips inside.  She grabs a slice of pizza and then goes to lie down on the couch. She watches Alex until sleep takes over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts/ideas/predictions/hopes


	5. Ignoring the Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the positive feedback.

When they both wake up they pretended like everything is fine. “When do you want to watch the China Game?”

“Well technically I still need to finish the Columbia game.  We have like 15 more minutes I think.”

“Why don’t we watch that while we eat breakfast and then wait until this afternoon to watch the next one?  I won’t tell Doc if you don’t.”

Alex smiles, nodding.  They eat their cereal in silence as the game comes to a close.

Tobin closes the laptop once the final whistle blows.   “Hey Tobin?”  She turns to Alex. “Do we have any clothes of mine that aren’t these sweatpants?” Alex asks.

Tobin nods, “Your parents have your suitcase.  I’ll tell them to bring it when they come later.” Tobin pulls out her phone, texting Pam and Mike quickly.  “There. So you want to go for a walk?”

“Are you going to walk this time?” Alex asks, eyebrow raised.

“Eh, I’d rather you push me,” Tobin shrugs, walking to the wheelchair that was in the corner of the room.  Alex shakes her head as she climbs out of bed and Tobin wheels herself to the door.

They walk and roll together for an hour.  Barely saying anything, almost content in their silence but still wish they could speak their minds.  Tobin works up the courage to finally say something besides their next location on their fiftieth tour of the hospital.

“So,” Tobin starts, “besides your sisters, Jill, and Kel have you talked to anyone else?”  Tobin isn’t sure if she wants Alex to tell her truth, the full truth at least.

“Yeah, actually. Abby, Syd, and Christie mostly,”  Alex replies, leaving it vague so as to spare Tobin’s feelings.

“Okay,” Tobin nods, not sure where to go from there.  She decides changing topics will be easiest, “So do you want to talk about where you’re going to go when you get released?”

‘ _Ugh, great I was hoping to postpone this until never._ ’ “Sure.  So I was thinking at least starting at home because that will be somewhat familiar.  I don’t really know anyone in Portland so LA would be nice, being with my family.  Also you’ll have to leave for camp basically once we get to Portland so it just makes more sense logistically speaking if I stay with my parents.”  Tobin hangs her head dejectedly and Alex looks down at her.  Not noticing that the hallway turns, Alex wheels Tobin straight into the wall.

“What the…Lex? What happened? Are you okay?” Tobin is on her feet in seconds holding Alex by her arms.

“I’m fine Tobin.  I just...I just got distracted by my shoes.”  Tobin shakes her head grabbing the wheelchair with one hand and bringing it in front of Alex.

“Sit”

“Tobin I’m fine.  I just stopped paying attention at the wrong time.  I can walk.”

“Alex. SIT” Tobin says sternly.  Alex knew there was no reason to try and argue so she sits down with a groan and lets Tobin push her back towards her room.  They enter the room to find Alex’s parents sitting on the couch.

Alex stands up from the wheelchair and walks over to the table where Chinese take-out containers sit.  Tobin smiles and looks over at Pam and Mike “Are you trying to make me fat?”

“Fat? No.  Give you a little more covering for your bones? Yes.” Mike replies, not even looking up from his book.  Tobin chuckles as she walks over, grabbing some fried rice.  “Alex a nurse came in and said you have a few tests tomorrow and if all goes well you will be released Thursday.”

“Okay.  You and mom don’t have to stay.  Tobin’s here and so is Cheney.  You guys need to go back so you can get caught up on work.”

“It’s really okay sweetie if were a little behind,” Pam says.

“That’s no way to start off the New Year.  Please go home.  Have the house set up for when I get there,” Alex pleads.  She knows that her parents need to go back home and get back to work.

“So you decided where you’re going when they release you?”

“Yeah.” She looks over to Tobin who is extremely immersed in her food or at least pretending to be.  “I don’t know anything about my Portland life so some familiarity would be nice.”  Her parents nod in agreement, both of them eyeing Tobin as well.

“Okay sweetie.  Whatever you think is best.  How fast do you want me and your father gone?”

“Whenever you want.  I’m not kicking you out I just think you don’t need to be here and it’s a lot of money for the hotel.”

“It’s really no trouble but if you want we can check the flights and see what works best.” Tobin opens her laptop, waiting for it to turn on.

After a few minutes she says, “There’s a flight leaving in a few hours, one late tonight, or there are a few tomorrow.  So it shouldn’t be too bad for whenever you decide.  Now for us, let’s see.”  She types and clicks a bit more before saying  “Lex we could leave at like noon on New Year’s Day to head to LA.  Does that sound good?”  She looks up at Alex and sees Alex chewing on her lip.

“Uh don’t you need to go back to Portland?” Alex asks while looking down near Tobin’s feet.  Tobin’s shoulders fall and the slight smile on her face disappears.  

“Not really but uh... There are no direct flights to Portland from here but there are some from LA.”  Tobin says trying to put a smile on her face.  “I figure we could do part of the trip together.  Is that cool?”  Alex nods her head yes.

“Okay well then, yeah, whenever sounds good but if I’m getting discharged the day before why don’t we just leave then?”

“Do you really want to spend New Year’s Eve in the air?” Tobin asks rhetorically before continuing, “Cheney invited us to stay over if we needed to.”

Alex smiles, “That sounds good.”  They sit in silence for a few minutes, Alex watching the clock near the door slowly rotate.  She finally breaks the silence, “Can we watch the next game now?”  Tobin laughs and brings the computer over and gets the game keyed up.

“Kelley starts this one because Pinoe and Chen are out.”

“Is this the game where she scores?”

“No that’s Germany.”

“Oh right.”

Nothing too exciting happens in the first half.  Alex still finds it weird to see herself, she looks older than she expects, everyone does.  They hear part of Abby’s half-time speech causing Alex to laugh.  “Some things never change.”

They stay silent for a while, Alex sitting cross legged in bed while Tobin sits in the wheelchair, rolling back and forth slightly.  Alex’s watches as Tobin takes a corner and then quickly the camera finds her again for a throw in.  “I’m proud of us Tobs.  We both have come so far since 2012.” Tobin nods reaching over and squeezing Alex’s hand.

“We have.” She turns towards the screen.  “Wait, watch this.”  Alex looks to the screen to see Tobin get knocked down and the ref pull out a yellow.  “Keep watching” Tobin says, eyes focused on the screen.  The ball is kicked across the field then JJ launches it up.  The ball finds Carli’s head and it’s in the goal.  Alex jumps excitedly in the bed.  

A few minutes later Kelley’s face appears on screen. Alex cringes when she sees Kelly bleeding.  “What happened?”

“She hit her face on someone when she went up for header.  They’ll show a replay in a few minutes.”

Tobin stands up once the game is over, stretching before she says,  “I’m going to go for a run.”  She walks over to her bag and rifles through it pulling out some practice clothes.  She walks into the bathroom and is out in a few minutes, decked out in USA training gear.  “Did you guys decide what flight you were taking?”

“Yeah we are going to leave for the airport in like an hour,” Mike responds.  Tobin walks over to both of them, hugging them tightly.  “We’ll see you soon Tobin.”

“Of course.  Have a good New Years.”

“You too dear,” Pam says hugging her again.  “Have a good run.  I expect good things from you in February.”

“Of course, Pam,” Tobin says with a large smile.

Tobin heads out and Alex looks around the room noticing a bag identical to Tobin’s near the table.

“Is that my bag?”

“Oh right, Tobin asked us to bring it.” Mike walks over and grabs it, bringing it to Alex.  “We actually need to head out in a little bit get our stuff from the hotel.  Will you be okay?”

“I can sit by myself in a hospital bed, dad.”

“I never know with you kid.  You’re always the wild card.”

She talks with her parents for a bit hugging them tightly before they both leave.

She then starts digging through her bag, pulling everything out.  She takes her practice jersey out and changes into it.  She looks down smiling and sets a goal for herself.  She will be back in this jersey by Rio.

She starts putting stuff back in finding her toiletries bag.  ‘ _Oh thank god._ ’  Alex stands up and walks to the bathroom.  She washes her face and then starts digging through the bag.  She pulls out some eye liner, putting on a light layer.  She reaches in, digging deeper.  Her fingers find something she doesn’t recognize as make up.  It’s small, cold, hard, and round.  She pulls it out and is shocked by the beautiful ring she is holding.  It’s perfectly Alex.  A thin band with a large diamond sitting inside a ring of smaller diamonds.She slips it onto her left ring finger and stares at it.  She’s not sure how long she stands there but is awoken from her trance when she hears the door to her room open.  She quickly slips the ring quickly off of her finger.

“Alex?” Tobin’s voice calls out through the door.

“I’m in the bathroom.”  She grabs the Chap Stick out of the bag, stuffing everything else in, and then walking out the door.

Tobin’s eyes flick down to the bag in Alex’s hand then back to her face. Alex puts on her Chap Stick and then throws the bag back into her suitcase.  “How was your run?”

“Ugh I don’t get how people live in this all year.  It’s humid and it’s December.” Tobin looks Alex up and down, a grin forming on her face, “Are you matching me on purpose?”

Alex looks down at her attire, shrugging. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

Tobin shakes her head and heads for the bathroom.  “I’m going to shower.”  Tobin wants to ask Alex to join her as she would have less than a month ago but knows that that would be one of the worst things she could possibly say.

Alex nods as Tobin walks into the bathroom.  She sits down staring at the bag, looking up when the door opens a minute later.  Tobin walks out in just a sports bra and compression shorts, her damp hair down over her left shoulder.  “Sorry.  Forgot my towel.”  She walks over to her bag grabbing it quickly and tossing it over her shoulder.

Alex just nods watching her. Her eyes taking in the muscles that Tobin had built since 2012.  The door closes and Alex shakes herself out of it.

Tobin falls asleep on the couch that night after shetreats Alex to a few of her favorite movies from after 2012.

~~~

The next morning Tobin is awoken by an insistent poking in the stomach.  “Ugh, Lex.  Give me another hour please.  I’ll make it worth your while,” Tobin mumbles through the pillow, bringing her knees up to block Alex’s finger.

Alex chuckles, “How so?”

Tobin smiles, her eyes still closed, she snuggles into the pillow more and pulls the blanket up around her neck, “I’ll do that thing with ice cubes that you like.”  Alex’s smile drops, her slight laugh stopping abruptly.  Tobin opens her eyes slowly expecting to see Alex’s lustful eyes.  She first notices Alex’s eyes show anything but lust and then that she isn’t in her bed, at home in Portland.  Everything comes crashing back and she is fully awake now.  “Shit.  Alex.  I’m sorry. I forgot.  I...uh...”  Tobin sits up, looking around and rubbing her eyes, noticing how dark it still is outside. “What time is it?”

“6:30,” Alex says looking at the couch over Tobin’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Tobin asks through a yawn.  “Why are you up?”

Alex still a little embarrassed by Tobin’s earlier comment shyly says, “It’s the next day.  I wanted to watch the Germany game.”

Tobin starts cracking up. “Can I stay lying down?” she asks when she regains her breath a minute later.

Alex nods and grabs the laptop, putting it on the coffee table in front of the couch.  Tobin sits up so Alex has room to sit down.  Tobin goes to lay down.  Her head hovering over Alex’s lap, looking up at her with questioning eyes, “Is this okay?”

Alex nods and presses play, already having it ready to go. Tobin lets her head drop onto Alex’s sweatpants covered thigh as the starting line ups are announced.  She shifts her head to a comfortable position and is unable to stop herself from taking a long deep breath of Alex’s scent.  She settles comfortably into Alex’s lap, a small smile pulling at her lips.  “How long have you been working up the courage to wake me up?”

“Well I’ve been thinking about it since 5:30 and I finally got out of bed at like 6.”

“This is probably the best game.  Can I say something about our relationship during this or would that make you too uncomfortable?” Tobin asks timidly.

Alex thinks for a moment, staring at the screen before dropping her gaze down to Tobin, “Go ahead.”

“This was a very physical game and you kinda got a little jealous,” Tobin says, not being able to hide a smirk.

“Why?” Alex asks genuinely curious.

“Well one of the players, Tabea Kemme, and I got tangled up a few too many times for your liking.  There are a few plays that you really didn’t like.  It was just...well, you’ll see.”

Alex looks at Tobin skeptically until the whistle blows to start the game.  They watch for a few minutes before Alex asks,  “Which one is she?”

“22.” Alex looks at the small screen trying to figure out which one she is.  A few minutes later there is a close up of Kemme and Tobin points to her. “That’s her.”

They watch Tobin foul a German player.  Alex quickly looks down to her lap, asking, “Is that her?”

Tobin shakes her head. They sit in silence for a while.  Tobin sees the foul committed in the 28th minute, leading to a free kick, and squeezes her eyes closed tight.  Alex notices and looks down, “Are you tired or do they score here and you don’t want to watch?”

“I just can’t watch this part.”

“What? Why?”  The ball is kicked and Alex sees a few players jump up and then two fall down.  “Who got hit?”  Tobin still doesn’t open her eyes as the numerous replays are shown.

“Moby,” she responds.

“Moby?”

“Moby Dick.  That’s what I like to call Morgan Brian.  People call her Moe and then I add the B for her last name. Moe-B, Moby.  It hasn’t caught on yet but I’m working on it.” They sit in silence as the game resumes after the two players are led off the field.

Alex shakes her head, watching Meghan take a shot on goal and miss.

“Damn” Alex groans as none of the shots make it anywhere near the goal. “Does this go to PKs?  Is that how Kelley scores?”

“I’m not giving anything away.”

Kemme appears on screen, “Where’s all of this touching you were talking about?  I don’t even think I’ve seen you interact with her.”

“Oh we have been,” Tobin clarifies, “you’re just not as focused on me now as you were then.  Also it’s easier to see when you’re on the field.”

Alex watches the next play where she gets a shot on goal.  “Natze rode you about that one for a while,” Tobin says from her lap.

“Huh?” Alex looks down at Tobin whose eyes are still on the screen.

“The keeper, Nadine- Oh, hold on, watch this.”  Alex looks up to see Tobin and Kemme jostling each other and winces as Tobin crashes into the boards.

“Ouch.” The German leans down to help Tobin, and Alex notices, “Her hands are all over you.  Like she could help you up, but holding you like that.  No wonder I was jealous if it gets worse in the second half.”

Tobin smiles, “Getting a little jealous now?”

“What? No,” Alex states adamantly. “I was just agreeing with my past self.”

Tobin nods, trying to keep the grin off her face  Alex watches a replay of herself jostling with some German players.  “Did you get jealous too?”  Tobin looks up at Alex smirking.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”  Alex grabs her phone from the table, typing out a text to Kelley.

**AMorgs: Did Tobin get jealous in the Germany game?**

They turn back to the game.  Tobin adjusting her head on Alex’s lap resting her left hand on Alex’s knee.  Alex looks down when she sees a flash of something and notices the ring on Tobin’s finger.

“Oh Alex, watch, you get called soon.”  They wait a minute watching the game.  Tobin laughs when she sees Alex shake her finger on screen.

“That wasn’t a foul.  She fell because she couldn’t stand on her own two feet,” Alex says trying to defend herself.  Tobin continues to laugh.

“Oh Fuck.”  Alex says as Julie pulls down a German player in the box drawing the yellow.  “Come on Hope.  You got this.”  Alex holds her breath as Hope delays and up until Sasic runs in.  “YYYEEESSSS!”  Alex jumps up and Tobin is propelled forward. “Fuck. Damn Hope.  Did you see that?  Wait of course you saw it, you were there.  I was there.  Holy shit! YES!”  Tobin picks herself up off the floor, rubbing her elbow and chuckling at Alex as Chris rushes in.

“What?  What’s happening? What’s wrong?”  He takes in the scene in front of him and can’t stop from shaking his head. “Alex we have people trying to sleep  This is a hospital.  I will have your World Cup privileges taken away if I have to.”

“Sorry Chris.” Tobin says. “It’s the Germany game, it’s inevitable.  Do you have anywhere we can watch it because there will absolutely be more screaming.”

Chris shakes his head at the two of them but holds the door open wider, “Come on, let’s go.”  Tobin grabs the laptop, pausing the game.  She walks over to the wheelchair and sits down.

“Giddy up baby horse.”  Alex lightly slaps the back of Tobin’s head before pushing the wheelchair out the door and following Chris.

They walk to a small private waiting room at the other end of the floor.  “Just try to keep it down okay?”

They both nod, knowing it won’t happen.  Tobin quickly presses play again and the game resumes.  Alex watches herself take another shot on Nadine and misses.  “What were you saying about Angerer earlier?”

“Nadine made fun of you for not wanting to give me the ball because you took a few shots when I was open.  She was just messing with you though.”

“When did that happen?”

“We all played for the Thorns, but she retired with Bue.  She’s actually the goal keeper coach now so you will see her when practices start.  Oh, watch this.  You’re in it.”

Alex watches herself pummel right into a German player and then the ref pointing towards the spot.  “PK.  Oh Carli’s got this.  She’s got this.”  Alex leans forward holding her breath again as Carli stares intently at the ball, “Let’s go. YEEEEEESSSSS.  FUCK YEAH Carli.”

By the time Alex calms down Tobin is grabbing the ball to take a throw in.  The screen then shows Alex who is smiling at Tobin.

“Here’s the other big one that you didn’t like.”  Alex watches the ball bounce then go high.  Both Tobin and Kemme jumping up for it.  Tobin ending up on top of Kemme, rolling on her back.  Alex watches Kemme then help her up and giving Tobin a pat on the back.

“What were you doing on top of her?”

Tobin just shrugs, “Surfing,” keeping her focus on the game but a smirk spreading across her face  again.  Alex feels her phone vibrate and pulls it out.

**Kel: Doubt it but maybe. It was nothing compared to you.  Did you remember something?**

**AMorgs: No were just watching the game and Tobin mentioned me being jealous**

**AMorgs: Wait you’re about to come in.**

**AMorgs: Wait you’re replacing Tobin?**

**Kel: Are you getting jealous again? Of me?**

**AMorgs: No**

**AMorgs: No. I just liked the thought of the three of us playing together**

**AMorgs: Wow. You don’t even pay attention to her when she comes off. Rude**

**Kel: I was busy setting up my game plan for world domination**

**AMorgs: You still the beep test winner?**

**Kel: You know it**

“Stop texting and watch this play,” Tobin advised.  Alex sets her phone on the table and watches the ball almost go out of bounds.  It then get passed around for a bit.  Carli gets it and kicks it across the goal.  Kelley comes out of nowhere with her foot knocking it in.

“HOLY SHIT!!  OH MY GOD! KELLEY!  THAT WAS AMAZING!  That was her first?” Tobin nods.  Alex grabs her phone to say congrats when a replay is shown on screen.  Alex laughs and changes her text.

**AMorgs: Nice face**

**AMorgs: And abs**

**Kel: Did you notice I also took out Kemme for you with my kick?  I score the most epic goal and take out the player trying to steal my best friend’s woman.**

Alex puts her phone down not sure how to respond.   She watches the screen.  ‘ _Where’s the final_ _whistle?_ ’  She then picks it back up again.

**AMorgs: Seriously though Kel.  I’m so proud of you**

Alex looks to Tobin.  “Who are we playing in the final?”

“You have to wait until tomorrow.  Maybe if you didn’t wake me up at 6 in the morning you could have given yourself some more time.”

“But we watched it early so we should be able to watch the other one tonight.”

“Not how that works Alex.”  Alex pouts.  Tobin closes her laptop and places it on her lap.  “Let’s go back to your room kid.”  Tobin starts wheeling her way out.

Alex follows Tobin out, grabbing the handles and pushing her.  “How is it that I’m the patient yet I am always the one pushing you around?”

“I’m helping you get back in shape.  I’m going to be your personal trainer.”

“Tobin.  You’re going to camp.  How are you going to be my trainer?”

“So I know you lost some time but here, in the future, we have these things called phones.  They are like tiny magic boxes.  They allow people to communicate without being anywhere near each other.” Alex slaps the back of Tobin’s head as the midfielder bends over laughing. “I can call you every day and check how you’re doing.”

“Okay Tobs.” Alex responds, knowing she needs to give Tobin something so she doesn’t get too heart broken.  “You know Tobin I still want to be your friend?”  Tobin nods looking down at her feet.  They arrive inside the room and Tobin stands up.

“Alex if you ever want me to leave you alone just tell me.  I love you and I want to make you happy.  I will do whatever I can to make you happy.”  Alex nods stepping around the chair to hug Tobin.

“I’m sorry that this happened Tobin.  I don’t mean to hurt you.  The person you remember... it’s just not who I am anymore.  I’m sorry.”

“No Lex.  Don’t. Please can we just drop it?  I don’t want to talk about it.”  She plays with the ring on her finger.  Alex watches her, hugging her again.

They are interrupted by a knock on the door.   Dr. Liu peeks her heads around the door.   “Alex it’s time for your MRI.”

They break apart and Alex heads towards the door, following the doctor out.  Tobin sits down on the couch pulling out her phone calling Kelley.

“Well you’ve had an active morning.”

“Huh?”

“Alex was texting me at like the butt crack of dawn.  How’s that going?”

“Not good.  She literally just told me we can be friends but that’s it.  Also she’s texting Servando.  I don’t know what they’re saying but I saw a text he sent her by accident and it was definitely not something that would have happened before she lost her memory.  Kelley, I lost her but like she’s still here.  It’s like a break up where you still have to see the person everyday.  I do see her everyday I’m just not her someone anymore.  I don’t want to let her go.  I don’t know what to do.”

“Tobin.  It’s going to take some time.  Don’t give up yet.  Have you guys figured out what going on when she gets out?”

“We’re going to go to Cheney’s for New Years then we are flying to LA.  Before all this, we rented a house in LA so we could be near her family during the holidays but be closer to the beach. Also it’s like right next to Carson, so I got it until we had to leave for camp. I’m going to stay there so I’m closer.  She thinks I’m going to Portland for a few days but I already have the house so why not use it for the few days I can.  Do you maybe want to join me? We can go surfing and stuff.”

“Of course I want to come surfing with you but why don’t you just tell her?”

“Because she’s asking for space so I want her to have it.  I just want to be close in case something happens again or if she remembers.  I never want to be far away from her.”

“Don’t get into the stalker phase.”

“I’m not going to do that.  Her parents know I’ll be there and just to call me if something goes wrong.  I’m not stalking.  I won’t even see her if everything goes as it has been.”

“Okay bud,” Kelley affirms.  “Yeah. I’ll be there and we can head to death camp after some kick ass surfing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me with any and all comments...the good, the bad, and the ugly.
> 
> I'll post the next chapter in a few days


	6. The Final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my favorite chapter to write. That might be because I rewatched this game like 5 times but also I just think it's Tobin being adorable.

Alex wakes up the next day later than normal but still super excited.  She looks over towards the couch which has become Tobin’s bed.  Surprisingly the couch is empty.  Alex sits up and looks towards the bathroom, the light is off.  She slowly stands up and heads to the door, peeking out.  The hallway is empty except for Chris sitting at the nurse’s station down the hall.  Alex walks over to him.  “Hey Chris. Have you seen Tobin?”

Chris looks up, “Good morning Alex.  She actually left to go work out a while ago. She said that she’ll be back around 11.”  Alex looks at the clock and groans when she sees that it is only 10.  “Is there anything I can help you with?” Chris asks amused.

“I want to watch the final.  Do you know her computer password?  She added one so I couldn’t watch without her.”

“I heard you tried to watch it at like 2 this morning.”

“She woke up to the sound of her computer starting up.” 

“Looks like you’re just going to have to wait.  Sorry.” He smirks and goes back to working on the chart he is typing up.

Alex sulks back to her room.  She opens Tobin’s computer and types out a few different password possibilities but all tries end in failure.  

She grabs her phone off of the table.

**Lex: TOOOBBBBIIINNN.  HURRY UP!  THIS IS NOT FAIR THAT YOU ARE MAKING ME WAIT**

**AMorgs: Do you happen to know Tobin’s password?**

She waits impatiently for a response.  It doesn’t take long for her to see little dots come up to show Kelley is typing.

**Kel: Nope and even if I did I for sure wouldn’t tell you**

Alex groans and drops her phone down on the bed.  She gathers her things and heads to the bathroom for a shower.  When she gets out she hears some noises outside the door.  Alex smiles and quickly gets dressed and walks into her room.  She sees Tobin has lunch on the table and is setting up the computer.  Tobin is wearing her white kit minus the cleats and socks and Alex sees hers sitting on the table, folded, next to her.

Tobin looks up when Alex gets closer and tosses her the jersey.  “Put this on.” Alex turns around as she pulls off the t-shirt she had just put on and pulls on the jersey.  “These are the ones we wore during the final.  I figured it would kind of put us back in the mind set and stuff.  Make it more realistic for you.” Tobin smiles to her as she turns back around, softly adding, “Maybe even bring back some memories.”

Alex pretends not to hear her and looks down at the two stars above the crest, knowing that a third has been added the last time this jersey was worn.  “So what’s for lunch?” 

“I got us more po’boys.  I figured we could celebrate and pig out all at once.”

Alex grabs the one in front of her and opens the packaging. “Well let’s go.  I have a World Cup to win,” she exclaims, motioning for Tobin to start the game.

Tobin smiles and presses play.  “First 20 minutes are the most exciting so pay attention.”

Alex nods taking a bite then putting her sandwich back down as the starting line ups are shown.  Tobin sits back and for the first two minutes watches Alex, glancing at the screen every once in awhile to see what she is reacting to.

Tobin focuses back on the game when she sees the ball go out for the first corner.  Pinoe kicks the ball in towards the middle of the 18 and Carli runs towards it knocking it right in.  Alex jumps up with a shout and her arms raised.  Tobin shakes her head and pulls her back down as the game resumes.  “Take it easy there Lex.  Don’t want you to blow out your voice just yet.”

Alex shakes her head and watches the US get the ball back quickly and Tobin take it up field.  Tobin gets fouled and then Lauren is standing over the ball to take the free kick.  Tobin watches Alex out of the corner of her eye when the whistle blows. Alex jumps up again “HOLY SHIT, two goals in two minutes.”  Tobin smiles as Alex sits back down.  “Can I eat my food or is Carli going to score again?” she wonders out loud.

Tobin chuckles, “You have a few minutes.”

“Wait a few minutes until she scores or someone else scores?”

Tobin just shakes her head and takes a bite, motioning with her food towards the game.  Alex picks hers up and looks at Tobin suspiciously for a second before turning back to the game.  As the 14th minute starts Tobin sets her food back down and Alex looks over.  After a few seconds she does the same and focuses back on the game, her heart beat picking up in anticipation.

Alex watches the ball get kicked around a bit before getting kicked towards herself in the box.  She clenches her fist thinking she’s going to score but the Japanese player gets their head on it sending it away.  Her fists loosen up for a split second until she sees Cheney coming in volleying it into the back of the net.  Alex clenches her fists and raises them in the air.  “YEAH CHENEY!!” After 5 seconds Alex starts to calm herself down and turns to Tobin who is smiling widely at her trying to hold in a laugh while holding her phone up, recording her.  Alex shoves her lightly, “Shut up, Tobin.”

Tobin knocks her shoulder against Alex’s, putting the phone down in her lap, “I said absolutely nothing.”  She turns back towards the game as it restarts.  “All I know is that I kicked the ball towards you and Cheney scored, typical Lauren being super selfish.”

Alex pushes Tobin again before asking, “Do I score this game?” Tobin picks her phone back up and gets the camera ready.

“Shh Lex,” Tobin responds, “you’re going to miss it.”  Tobin starts recording.

“Miss what, Tobin. It’s on our half of the field? Does Japan score here?”

“Just watch.”  Alex watches Carli get the ball and take a few touches.  Once she’s over the center line she rockets the ball towards goal.

“Oh My God.  No… HOLY SHIT.” Alex jumps up on the couch with her arms in the air. “GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!” Tobin shakes her head and continues recording as Alex sits back down.  She turns the camera towards the door when it flies open.  Tobin reaches over with her other hand to pause the game as Jamie, one of the many nurses, rushes in. 

“Ms. Morgan, please.  You are recovering from a very serious head trauma, you should not be jumping around and yelling.  We have other patients on this floor and they do not appreciate you yelling every other minute.  If it continues I will have to get Dr. Liu in here to take away your game watching privileges.  Do I make myself clear?”

Tobin bites her lip to try and stop herself from laughing, turning the camera back to Alex as the forward bows her head and softly responds, “Yes Ms. Jamie.”

The door closes and Tobin bursts out laughing, pressing the stop button to the video and clutching at her stomach. Alex shoves Tobin, “Shut up Tobin. I’m sure you were yelling just as loud when it happened.”

After a minute, Tobin catches her breath and nods. “Yeah I was loud but I had 50 thousand people cheering around me so I was not the only one.”  Tobin looks down at her phone, “I’m so glad I got Jamie coming in and scolding you.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asks looking confused as Tobin holds up her phone.  Tobin presses play and Alex watches herself ask Tobin if Japan is going to score.  She then sees her face light up and within seconds is shouting and jumping.

“Too bad you were cursing in it or I would put it up for all your fans to see how you’re recovering.”  Alex goes still and Tobin notices immediately.  “Lex it’s okay.  No one knows anything yet.  As far as people know you just have a really bad concussion or something.  US Soccer tried to make most of the news about Abby’s last game and not about you and it’s the holidays so news sources have a bunch of other things to talk about.  Your fans miss you as I keep getting twitter asks about your status and such but everything is okay.  They just want you to get better and come back.”

“And what if that doesn’t happen Tobin? What if I never get my memory back?”

“Then I’ll fill in what I can and new memories can always be made.”  Alex nods solemnly. “Come on, let’s finish the game.  I have more surprises for you but first we need to finish the game.”

“Can I eat now or is something going to happen?”

“I think you’re good for a while.”  Alex nods and picks up her plate, pressing play before sitting back.  Tobin smiles at Alex and pats her leg before grabbing her food too and focusing on the game.

They watch as the ball gets passed around then get passed to Meghan.  She crosses it into the box and Carli goes up for a header.

Alex starts choking as the ball goes out of bounds just wide of the net. Tobin drops her food on the table and starts patting Alex’s back.  “Alex, are you okay?”  Tobin grabs the water bottle off the table and hands it to her.  Alex guzzles it down and takes a few breaths before smacking Tobin’s leg hard. 

“You said nothing else happened.”

“Nothing did happen.  Carli headed the ball out of bounds.  I’m sorry if I forgot a few shots or throw ins here and there.”

Alex shakes her head and puts her plate down on the table, rubbing her throat.  They watch the game in silence for a bit until near the end of the 24 th minute. Alex watches herself with the ball inside the box.  She clenches her fists and leans forward, whispering to herself, “Come on.”  The Japanese keeper dives for the ball and Alex’s shoulders fall.  Tobin sadly smiles and pats her on the back. 

“Do you want to know if you score?”

Alex is silent for a bit, almost too long of a time that Tobin is about to ask her again because she thinks Alex didn’t hear her. Just as she is about to open her mouth Alex’s answers, “Yes but no.  Let it be a surprise.  I want to try and live this up as much as possible in case I never remember.”

They sit quiet again and Alex sighs as Japan gets on the board.  “That was a good play.”

Tobin chuckles, “Yeah, they had a few.”  The game continues.  Alex smiles and watches herself come on screen with her arms up in the air.  “You’ve really become a fan of that position when you think you’ve been fouled.  Just sit there like a little kid and wait for a whistle.”

“Do I get fouled a lot.”

“Yeah kinda, you can score and people would rather throw a foul then give you that chance.”

Alex watches Hope dive but the ball end up in front of the goal.  Alex reaches over and grips Tobin’s hand, uttering, “Uh oh.”  Tobin looks down at their hands while Alex’s eyes are glued to the screen.  The ball gets cleared and Alex relaxes.  She looks over at Tobin then down at their hands.  She quickly releases them and brings her hand back to sit in her lap, “Sorry.”

Tobin shakes her head and turns back to the game.  Tobin puts her hands together and twirls her ring around her finger.  Alex watches this out of the corner of her eye, noticing Tobin does this whenever something similar has happened in the past week.  Neither one says anything until two Japanese players throw the ball in at the same time.  “This just makes it more obvious how much they were struggling,” Tobin points out. “Very little communication... well bad communication.  It was a lot of yelling,” 

They stay silent for the rest of the half.  When the whistle blows Tobin stands up and heads to the bathroom. Alex grabs her phone and opens up a new message.

**Alex Morgan: Watching the WC final and just wondering what you ate for breakfast that morning.**

She then sends a text to Kelley.

**AMorgs: I just grabbed her hand at a tense moment and made things weird.**

She gets a response from Kelley right away.

**Kel: I don’t know what to tell ya al.  Just try to keep your hands to yourself ;)**

**AMorgs: I didn’t mean to.  Japan almost scored and I got worried.  Okay time for the second half.  Talk later.**

**Kel: You know we won right.  Even if Japan scores a thousand times we still scored more than them in the end.**

**AMorgs: Bye Kelley**

Alex puts her phone down as Tobin comes out of the bathroom.  The game starts quickly and Alex leans in, elbows resting on her knees.  Tobin chuckles when she sees Cheney motion away a defender on a free kick.  Alex clenches her fist in excitement when Morgan takes a shot but relaxes when it goes over the bar.

Alex groans when Japan’s free kick finds its way past Hope and into the side netting inside the goal.  “How many goals are scored in this game?”

“You said you wanted it to be a surprise.”  Alex nods watching the game restart.  Tobin smiles, “the next goal that is scored was for sure your favorite though.” Alex looks at Tobin with her eyebrow raised for a moment before turning back to the screen.

“Okay well you did ruin the surprise that there is at least one more goal scored.”

“I didn’t say which team scored it though.” Alex fully turns to her confused.

“Why would I like Japan’s goal?” Tobin shakes her head and puts two fingers on Alex’s jaw, turning it back towards the screen.

“Just watch.”  The ball goes out of bounds for a US corner.  Lauren lines up to take it and puts it right in front of the goal face.  Alex watches herself miss and stumble into the net while the ball keeps going.  Morgan crosses it back in front of the net and Tobin knocks it in.  Alex smiles big and turns towards Tobin. 

“You scored.”  Tobin just sheepishly nods but keeps her eyes on the screen.  Alex follows Tobin’s eyes to the computer.  She watches herself run to Tobin who is surrounded by Morgan and Ali. On screen Alex wraps her arms around Tobin’s neck and buries her face in between her arm and Tobin’s neck.  Alex turns away, luckily her phone vibrates at that exact moment and she grabs it.  She tries to tune out the announcers talking about Tobin and Alex as a couple while she opens up a message from Carli.

**Carli Lloyd: Oh you know.  The usual banana, granola, and small children.  How are you doing?  Tobin said you’re pretty active for someone who was in a coma less than a week ago.**

**Alex Morgan: Lol. I didn’t know US soccer started supplying small children at pregame meals.**

**Carli Lloyd: Oh they don’t.  Fifa does though.  My mascot is generally missing a few fingers when she goes home.**

**Alex Morgan: And yeah I’m doing well considering.  I’ll probably come to see you all at camp/the game.**

**Carli Lloyd: That’s good.  We’ve all been pulling for you.**

**AMorgs: Hey you’re coming in :)**

**Alex Morgan: Thanks Car**

**Kel: I’m the super sub doncha know**

**AMorgs: You’re super something for sure.  Annoying, loud, crazy, obsessive. Take your pick.**

Alex watches herself miss and groans.

**AMorgs: Do I score this game?**

**Kel: Sorry Al.  I was previously instructed not to tell you anything.**

Alex turns to Tobin somewhat angry, “What are you saying to people about me?”

Tobin looks over at Alex confused, “huh.”

“Carli says she knows how I’m doing and Kelley says she was told not to tell me anything about the game.  Who besides you would be saying these things.”

“Okay for the Kelley thing that was more we were on the phone earlier and I said I want you to be surprised.  I think she just misinterpreted how I said not for her to give anything away.  Like I didn’t want her to say wasn’t Carli’s half field goal amazing before you got to it.”

“And Carli?”

“The team wants to know how you’re doing.  The whole world wants to know how you’re doing.  They don’t know day to day stuff just that you’re up and about and your memory isn’t all there.  I mean some know more than others but everyone is worried about you Alex.  You went down hard and were out for a week.  They know not to say anything but if they somehow found out from the internet or something that would be bad.  You might not fully know everyone but everyone loves you and just want you to be okay.  I really don’t want to fight about this. Abby’s going to come on soon can we just get through like the next two hours and then you can yell at me all you want.”

‘ _ Two Hours? _ ‘  Alex sighs, “Alright.  Yeah let’s just watch the game.”  Twenty seconds later the ball goes out and Alex sees Abby is coming on for Tobin.  She watches Carli strap the captain’s band onto Abby’s arm. “This really is Abby’s last competitive game?”

“Yep, and you got to play it with her.”  Alex smiles and grabs her phone again.

**Alex Morgan: any way I can get you to come back and play until I retire?**

She looks up and watches Abby go down. “Damn Sawa is still killing it.”

Tobin nods, “I’m pretty sure she retired actually.  I saw a few tweets about it before Abby’s game but I haven’t looked too much into it since we’ve kinda been here.” 

“You didn’t have to stay, Tobin,” Alex sighed.

“I kinda did but it’s okay Alex.  I want to be here.”  Tobin says, looking towards the screen.  Seeing Alex being called out. “You’re getting subbed out.”

Alex turns back towards the screen and sees Christie standing near the sideline then watches herself head off the field.  They watch the rest of the game quietly. Once 90 minutes is reached and it’s just three minutes of injury time left, tears start to flow down Alex’s cheek. 

When the final whistle is blown Tobin turns to Alex with a huge smile.  When she sees the tears her smile quickly falters.  She grabs a tissue off of the table and hands it to Alex. “I know these are happy tears Alex but don’t go down yet.  We have a lot to get through.”

Alex takes the tissue and wipes her face.  “What do you mean, the game’s over.”

“The game might be over but my surprises are just starting.  Okay first I need you to stand up.” Tobin stands up and offers her hand to help Alex.  Alex takes it and is not only helped to her feet but pulled into a hug.  Tobin hugs her tight, lifting her off her feet and spinning her in a circle.  “We won Alex.  We just fucking won the World Cup.”  She puts her back down while Alex laughs through the tears which are just getting bigger.  

“Don’t laugh.  I’m recreating the day... minus some parts.”  Tobin leans down and closes the video and pulls up a new one.  Alex looks down as she sees the world cup being carried out.  Tobin walks behind Alex’s bed and leans down pulling out a flag and bringing it over to Alex. “This was your flag.”  Tobin shakes it out and puts it around Alex.  Alex grips it and wraps herself in it as her eyes continue to shed tears.  They watch as Hope gets the golden glove, Carli gets the golden ball and then as the US makes a pathway for Japan to get their Silver medals.

Once Japan is most of the way through Tobin gets up again and walks back over to the bed.  “What do you have over there?” Tobin just looks at her with a sly grin and walks back towards Alex and plops down on the couch.  Alex looks at her confused.  Tobin stares at the screen as the team starts filing onstage for their medal.  She smiles when she sees Alex, turning to her and opening her hand.  Alex looks down and sees a gold medal attached to a blue band.  Alex’s hands cover her open mouth, “Oh my god Tobin.”

“Okay so this may or may not be Cheney’s since I didn’t feel comfortable having ours shipped but she said you could borrow it for the day.”  Tobin holds it up and places it over Alex’s head then puts out her right hand grabbing Alex’s.  “Congratulations, Miss. Morgan,” Tobin says in a deep voice.  Alex chuckles and they both turn to watch Abby and Christie make their way to the stage.  Tobin gets up again but pulls Alex with her.  She pauses the video and moves Alex to the other side of the table and turns the computer.  “When I say so press play.  Don’t turn around though okay?”

Alex looks at her confused but nods and looks closer at the medal hanging around her neck.   After a minute Alex hears Tobin walk back over from the bed, “Okay press play.”  They watch the World Cup get handed to Abby and Christie and prepare to lift it.  Tobin leans into Alex’s ear as they watch them count.  “One, two, three.” Alex smiles as it is lifted into the air.  She looks down as she sees Tobin put something in front of her.

“OH MY GOD, Tobin.”  Alex snatches at the silver and gold trophy placed in front of her and holds it close.  Tobin comes around in front of her and takes a quick picture. 

“You gotta kiss her.  It’s what all world champions do.”  Alex smiles and leans her head down kissing the silver ball.  Tobin takes a few more pictures then sets her phone down. 

Alex doesn’t take her eyes off of it, “How?”

“Everything but this was easy.  She’s not easy to get alone.  Luckily Abby and Christie have a lot of sway and US Soccer loves you so it only took 20 phone calls.” Tobin reaches behind her back and pulls a black shirt out of her pocket.  “These are the shirts we got.  Do you want to put it on?”  Alex looks down at the World Cup then at the shirt.  Tobin smiles and opens up the head hole and just slides it over Alex’s head, her hands still occupied with holding the cup.  “You will have to let go eventually.” 

“Maybe, but not yet.”  Tobin smiles and walks back over to the bed pulling on her World Champion shirt on.  Alex starts to walk towards her.  “What else do you have back there?” 

Tobin smiles and holds up a hand.  “Stay there.”  Alex stops and waits, holding the trophy in one hand and holding it up over her head while she wipes a tear away with the other.  Tobin grabs a jersey and holds it up for Alex to see.  “Your three star jersey.” Alex smiles at it and grabs it with her free hand.

She looks down at the third star and then back at Tobin who is pulling the third shirt on over her head.  “Is that it cause I don’t know if you can fit any more shirts?”

Tobin shakes her head before reaching down and pulling out two more jerseys, holding one up for Alex to see.  It has three stars and the gold World Cup emblem on the chest.  “This is ours for the next four years. And even if you don’t remember it you were still a large part of it.”

Alex smiles, “Thank you Tobin. For everything.  I know it hasn’t been easy for you but thank you.”

They take more photos, sending a few to various people, before watching the LA rally and ticker tape parade, Alex cradling the cup the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How we feeling? Still upset about Alex?


	7. Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry peeps. You keep asking for flashbacks but that's not going to happen for a while if ever(ever being more likely). This love is going to be a slow burn so keep reading if you're in it for the long haul

Alex walks out the doors of the hospital towards Lauren, who is standing outside of her parked car.  Tobin, a step behind, is her holding both of their bags but still ready to catch Alex in case she falls even though she’s been walking fine for a while.

“Are you guys ready to get out of here?”

“YES,” Alex chirps excitedly.  “I can’t wait to sleep in a bed that isn’t on wheels.”

Lauren opens the passenger door for Alex to get in while Tobin turns around and looks back at the building they just left.  Lauren walks over and puts her arm around Tobin.  “I know bud but at least you got her back.  Maybe not in the same way but this story could have gone a whole lot different so be thankful for that.”

“I am Chen but I still don’t know how I can live without her.  At least in there miracles happen every day.  There was a chance they could fix it, bring it all back, bring back my Alex.  Out here it just all sucks.  It was supposed to be a New Year.  Starting my life with the person I love, planning our wedding, but she’s not the same person.  She doesn’t love me anymore.”

“Tobin,” Lauren chastises, “don’t say that.  She does love you.  You two were best friends in 2012.”

Alex watches Tobin and Cheney talk for a minute before calling out, “Hey guys.  We’re kind of parked in an ambulance zone and I think I hear one coming.”  They both turn quickly and Tobin throws the bags in the trunk before scampering into the back seat.

~~~

They all sit on the couch watching the New Year’s Eve Show.  There’s about 30 minutes until the ball drops and Tobin just keeps getting more and more unwound inside.  ‘ _I can’t kiss her.  That would be so weird.  Can I hug her? Do we just sit there awkwardly? I could just go to bed. Not deal with it at all. Yeah that sounds good._ ’  Tobin stands up and heads into the kitchen.  Lauren follows her making up the excuse of getting champagne.

“Are you okay Tobin?”

“I don’t know what to do when the ball drops.”

“You’re just going to have to play it by year,” Lauren smiles at her, “no pun intended.”

Tobin nudges Lauren with her shoulder and shakes her head.  “Maybe I should just go to bed.”

“No Tobin.  You’re supposed to celebrate New Years with your friends.  That’s what we are.”  Tobin nods and helps Lauren bring out the champagne filled flutes.

As the final countdown starts Lauren nudges Tobin and then turns to Jrue. Tobin turns to Alex once the countdown reaches 0 with a small, sad smile on her face.  “Happy New Year’s Alex.”

Alex turns to her smiling and hugs Tobin.  “Happy New Year’s Tobs.”

Tobin stands up after wishing the married couple a happy New Year as well.  “I’m going to head off to bed.”  They call out goodnight and Tobin makes her way to one of the guest rooms.  

She climbs into bed without changing and wraps her arms tightly around a pillow. Holding on as she cries herself to sleep.

~~~

At the airport, they run into a handful of people who ask for Tobin’s and Alex’s autograph and how Alex is doing.  Alex smiles for the pictures and thanks them for wishing her a fast recovery.  One person asks how the engagement is going and Tobin just fakes a smile and says “Great,” before Alex finishes signing the poster and they walk away.  All and all it’s an experience Tobin wishes hadn’t happened but it’s over, for now, at least.  Tobin and Alex board the plane with their carry-ons.  Tobin had opted for first class since they had a lot of miles and wanted to give Alex a bit of privacy.

Not soon after the plane takes off Alex reaches into her bag to pull out the deck of MonopolyDeal she had packed but finds Tobin asleep when she turns to ask her to play.  The worry and stress lines that Alex has seen plaguing Tobin’s face since she had woken up were almost gone. She watches Tobin, who seems to be at peace, a first that she could remember since 2012.

They hit a small pocket of turbulence and Tobin’s head falls over onto Alex’s shoulder.  In 2012 this would have been fine.  It actually happened all the time on bus rides.  Tobin would pull her beanie down and within a few minutes she would be on Alex’s shoulder, out like a light.  Now though Alex could feel it was different, Tobin unconsciously nuzzles into her neck, getting closer and throwing an arm across Alex’s lap.  A stewardess walks by and Alex asks for a pillow.  When the woman returns Alex puts the pillow against the window and eases Tobin over to it.

Tobin shuffles against the pillow but eventually gets comfortable again and settles back to a peaceful sleep.  Alex pulls out her phone, thankful for the wifi on the plane.  She finally pulls up twitter, having been ignoring it and all the notifications since she woke up.  She sees a ton of fan messages wishing her well and asking her how she was doing.  She types out a quick message.  

_Thank you for all the well wishes. The road to recovery starts now.  I’ll be back soon, you can count on it._

She starts scrolling through things she had posted before the accident.  The first one she sees makes her sad again.  It’s her shout out to Abby for her last game along with a picture of the two of them from the 2012 Olympics. ‘ _At least I remember that picture._ ’

The next one causes Alex to look over at the girl sleeping next to her.  It’s a picture of a sleeping Tobin on a lounge chair at the beach with Alex’s left hand also in the picture, showing off her engagement ring.  The comment that went along with the picture is,  ‘ _Can’t wait to call her my wife, now I just need to get her a ring.  This one’s going to be hard to beat. Any suggestions…? #Mrs &Mrs_’

Then she sees a few posts she had retweeted from fellow teammates who had been taking pictures when Tobin had popped the question.  They were both casually dressed on a beach with the sun starting to set.  Tobin is down on one knee and Alex appears to be wiping away tears while Tobin looks up at her with so much love.  Alex puts her phone down and looks over at the sleeping girl.  She then gets up and goes to the bathroom for some privacy, bringing her make up bag with her.

Alex looks through her make up bag and pulls out the ring that she had pushed to the bottom.  She twirls it between her fingers for a minute. ‘ _I_ _have to give it back to her._ ’  Alex sighs, knowing just how it will affect her friend and their already strained and awkward friendship.  She shoves it into her pocket and exits the bathroom.

Alex walks back to her seat to find Tobin, unsurprisingly, still asleep.  She puts her phone back in her bag and pulls out a binder Tobin had put together full of pictures.  It chronicles the past few years of her life.  Alex realizes that most of these photos were just of Alex and other people and in the ones where Tobin was also in it they were with other people and at most just had an arm thrown around each other.  Alex looks through the pictures from the World Cup a little more closely. Wanting to remember something of what she had worked her whole life for but nothing comes up.

She smiles at the pictures of the whole team jumping on Kelley after the Germany game.  She runs her finger over her crying face as the team is looking up into the stands with their medals on and a flag around her shoulders.  Tobin is asleep for the entire plane ride which Alex ends up being grateful for.  Things had been increasingly awkward between them since her parents had left and she’s not sure how five hours trapped with Tobin would go.  Once the pilot announces that they have started their descent Tobin starts to stir.

Alex smiled over at her as she opened her eyes.  "Are we there yet?" she asks, sleep still evident in her raspy voice.

"We're about to land actually.  You literally slept the entire time."

Tobin sits up, stretching.  "Sorry.  I've just been really tired." She then notices the pillow and smiles towards Alex.  "Thanks.  I probably wouldn’t have slept as well."

Alex nods and Tobin turns to the window to watch as the plane touches down.  They taxi and everyone stands.  The two grab their bags and head out.  "So when's your flight?"

"Huh" Tobin asks, not fully paying attention while looking for which way to go to baggage claim.

"To Portland.  Is it a long layover?"

"Oh...uh...yeah, I guess. Few hours," Tobin lies.

Alex watches Tobin skeptically, but just plays off whatever is weird to Tobin just waking up.  "Okay." They are getting close to the security exit and Alex puts a hand on Tobin’s shoulder.  "Can we talk for a minute?"

Tobin nods and leads them over to a quiet corner.  Alex puts her hands in her pockets.  "Tobin... I don't really know how to say this," Alex looks down.

"Lex you can tell me anything," Tobin says encouragingly, starting to reach out but retracting her hands before they reach Alex.

"Okay, well, I see how much I hurt you because I can't be the person you remember." Alex pulls the ring out of her pocket, "I want you to have this back." Alex looks up into Tobin's eyes and sees tears forming as she looks down at Alex’s hand.  "I'm not the woman you proposed to.  I want you to be able to move on, find someone that can love you the way you deserve to be loved." Alex reaches out for Tobin's hand and places the ring on her palm.

Tobin holds onto Alex’s fingers as tears silently run down her cheeks.  "Is this really what you want?" Alex nods silently trying to keep her own tears in check from seeing her friend this hurt and knowing she’s the cause.  Tobin releases her fingers and looks down at the ring in her hand.  "Okay," she says, her voice cracking slightly.

Alex watches her stare down at the ring.  "I'm sorry, Tobin."

"No,” Tobin starts.  She takes a deep breath and Alex can hear it quiver as she releases it.  “Alex it's fine.  You won’t remember this but when we got engaged I promised to do whatever I could to make you happy and I plan on keeping that promise.”  A few more silent tears fall from Tobin’s eyes. “You uh... you should get going.  Your dad is probably waiting." Alex waits for a few seconds hoping Tobin will look up at her but she continues to look at the ring in her hand.

She picks up her bag, "Bye Tobin.  I'll see you at camp I guess." Tobin just nods and Alex walks away.  She stops right before walking through the exit and turns back to look at Tobin who is sitting against the wall, her knees tucked into her chest and her head bent over, her body shaking.  Alex quickly turns back around, not being able to watch Tobin sob, and goes out to find her dad trying to stop the tears she is holding from freely flowing.

She finds him fairly quickly at baggage claim.  He wraps her in a hug and then pulls back, noticing her eyes are red, "Honey what's wrong."

"I kind of just broke up with Tobin,” Alex informs him. Mike looks behind Alex, looking for Tobin.  "She's heading to Portland and I didn't think I should have the ring anymore." Alex takes a shaky breath before continuing, “So I gave it back.”

"Oh sweetie." ‘ _Shit. Tobin._ ’ He hugs her once more, looking over her shoulder to see if he can find his ex future daughter in law.

"Can we just go home?" Alex asks quietly.

"Of course.  Let me just let your mom know you landed safe and that we are headed home."

**Mike: Alex gave Tobin back the ring.  Call her.  We'll be home in an hour.**

They drive home in near silence as Alex takes in the slight changes of the drive.  Mike grabs Alex's bags from the car when they pull into the driveway.  "Why don't you go to your room and rest.  We'll come get you when dinner's ready." Alex nods with a yawn, hugging her mom on the way up to her childhood room.

Mike waits until he can hear the door close before turning to his wife.  "Anything?"

"Voicemail every time.  She's also not responding to texts.  If we don't hear from her by tomorrow I'm going to go to the house.  You still have the address right?"  Mike nods and then brings Alex's bags to her room, leaving them outside the door.

~~~

Alex sits down at the table for breakfast.  Her mom puts a bowl of yogurt, fruit, and granola down in front of her.  "Thanks mom."

"No problem honey."  She hesitates before continuing, "have you heard from Tobin.  Do you know if she... got home okay?"

"She texted me and said my clothes and stuff  should be here tomorrow so I assume she got there."

"Oh okay” Pam replies.  “You just never know with her."  Alex nods, knowing Tobin's tendency to take a roundabout trip when traveling.  "So what are your plans now that you're home?”

“Start training.  Jill said I should check in with the trainers once camp starts then again after the game before they leave for Texas.”

“Just be careful, sweetie.  I don’t want anything to happen because you took off too fast.  If you work it back slowly it will be better in the long run.”

“I know Mom.  I’m twenty-….” Alex pauses thinking it over.

“26, Alex.  You are 26.”

“I was just doing the math.  I could have figured it out.”

“Just don’t go too hard,” Pam warns.

“I know Mom.”

~~~

Kelley knocks loudly on the door for a third time.  She sets her bag down and starts to walk around the house.  ‘ _Where the fuck is she.  I told her when my flight landed.  She said she would be here. If you ditched me to surf Tobin Heath I will kill you._ ’  Kelley gets to the back door and finds it unlocked.  Sighing with relief she walks into the dark house towards the front door and opens it, grabbing her bags before closing the door.  She heads down the hallway where she assumes the bedrooms will be.  She opens the first one and notices it’s empty so she tosses her stuff in.  She’s about to head to the beach to find Tobin when she hears a noise from down the hall.  She walks to the door where it came from standing outside for a moment before she hears the noise again.  She opens the door expecting to find a bedroom but is met with the white tile of the bathroom.  She walks in and sees Tobin lying in the empty bathtub, her eyes puffy and her breathing erratic.

“Tobin?” Kelley climbs into the tub with her, sitting behind her and pulling her into her chest.  “What happened Tobs?”

Tobin holds open her fist, showing Kelley Alex’s ring, which hadn’t left her hand since Alex placed it there the day before.  Kelley isn’t sure how to react except pull her in tight and give her a hug.

“That still doesn’t explain the bathtub.”  Tobin shakes her head as she climbs onto Kelley’s lap and curls up, trying to be as small as possible.  Kelley holds her tight as her breathing goes from nonexistent to hyperventilating and back.  It’s probably an hour before Kelley can’t take it anymore, her body is aching from the awkward angles of the confined space.  “Tob’s can we move this to the bed.  This tub is not doing anything good for my body.”

Tobin stands up and gets out quickly, wiping her face, “Sorry. Can we go surfing actually?”

“Of course we can,” Kelley answers with a smile, “that’s why I’m here.”

Tobin walks out the door while Kelley stretches out her back.  Tobin goes to the bedroom next door where she had dropped her stuff before running to the bathroom.  She rips open her bag and finds the long silver chain she uses to hold her house keys.  She pulls the keys off and slips Alex’s ring onto the chain.  She then looks down at her left hand quickly before pulling off that ring and adding it on the chain as well.  She slips the chain over her head, kissing both rings through a closed fist, and tucks it inside her shirt before she starts to get changed for surfing.  After putting on her swimsuit she heads to the closet and grabs a wet suit.  She pulls it on making sure the rings are secure and grabs the another suit in the closet.  She walks to Kelley’s room and knocks.

“Come in.”  She walks in to find Kelley tying the back of her bathing suit.  “Oh good you have wet suits.”  She walks over and grabs it out of Tobin’s hand and tosses it on the bed.  She pulls the midfielder into her arms.  “I love you Tobs.  Now let’s go surf.”

~~~

Alex looks down at her phone.  It has been three days since she had heard from Tobin who had made it seem like she was going to call her every day.  But that was before.  Before Alex had given Tobin back the ring.  Before Alex officially ended whatever it was Tobin remembered and possibly the friendship that went along with it.  Before Alex broke Tobin.  She types out a text and just stares at it for 10 minutes before finally sending it.

**Lex: My clothes arrived.  Thanks for sending them.  It was getting a little repetitive with just soccer stuff.**

Alex watches her phone, nothing. It isn’t until hours later that she gets a response.

**Tobin: No prob**

Alex groans at the very short, very Tobin, response.

**Lex: So I started up training again**

It only takes a few minutes for a response this time.

**Tobin: Be safe**

Alex drops her phone onto her bed and falls down next to it groaning.

~~~

Kelley and Tobin spend the time before they have to leave for camp in two ways.  In the morning curled up in bed, curtains drawn and a movie playing a background while Tobin clings to Kelley’s shirt. After lunch Tobin insists they go surfing.  After dinner, another movie and more tears.

Kelley texts Alex daily to see how she’s doing, the day before camp is no exception.

**Kel: Hey bud, how’s home life treating you**

**AMorgs: It’s okay.  Have you heard from Tobin?**

Kelley looks down at the girl who had just cried herself to sleep on Kelley’s lap.

**Kel: Yeah. Why?**

**AMorgs: She said she was going to be my personal trainer and call me every day and I’ve only heard from her twice since the airport and I started one of them.**

**Kel: Al you gave her the ring back. She’s not doing that great.**

**AMorgs: I was trying to help.  I didn’t want her to have false hope.**

**Kel: Did you ever think about giving it a chance?  You fell for her once.  Why not again?**

**AMorgs: I’m straight Kel**

**Kel: Things aren’t always black and white.  Your brain may not remember loving a woman but that doesn’t mean that the knock to the head somehow changed who you are.**

**Kel: You loved her so much.  You were so happy.**

**Kel: It’s lucky we didn’t play that game in Hawaii because I think you woulda freaked out if you had to take the ring off that soon to getting it.**

**AMorgs: Can you explain how we got together?  I wanted to ask her but didn’t know how without making it awkward**

**AMorgs: ...more awkward**

Alex waits a minute for a response and then gets a call.  Kelley.  She answers it.

“Hey Kel.”

“Sorry I just didn’t want to type it all out.  Now I don’t know everything that was happening in that damaged head of yours but I know most of it.”

“That’s fine.  I just want to know how I went from Serv to Tobin.”

“Okay so when you and Serv broke up you went to Tobin.  You knew that you didn’t want to be in the relationship but you were still pretty upset.  She helped you through it basically until camp which was when I next saw you.  You seemed happy which was not the case even a few weeks prior.  Let’s see this was early 2013.  You and Tobin were closer if that’s even possible then you would remember from the Olympics.  Still in just a friend way but you guys were like super attached at the hip.  Whatever happened between you two made Tobin not go to Paris.”

“Wait. Pause. She was going to Paris?”

“Yeah she was signing with PSG actually not sure how she got out of that I thought she had signed already.  Hmm…,” Kelley trails off.

“Kel, focus,” Alex says pulling Kelley from her thoughts.

“Right.  Sorry. Now stop interrupting. She was supposed to go to Paris and come back towards the end of our season. So Tobin didn’t leave and you guys started the season out together for the Thorns.  You were living in some housing complex with a bunch of the other Thorns.  You two weren’t in the same one but it could have fooled some people.  Now you had been talking to Abby a lot, I guess working through starting to have feelings for a woman but that’s speculation, you’ll have to ask Abby what you were actually talking about.  All we knew was you and Abby were also getting pretty close too.  I mentioned something to you once when our teams played each other about how close you and Tobin were.  You would link arms with her, hold her hand.  I told you that you were acting like her girlfriend.  You blushed and and tried to deny it but I could totally tell.  You had a big crush on her but Tobin being Tobin had no idea and still thought you were straight.  I asked why you didn’t tell her and you said it was because you didn’t want to hurt your friendship and she wouldn’t see you that way.”  Kelley pauses to take a breath.

“That was like a week or two prior to anything happening.  Now this part is all second hand from Allie but you get the general gist.”

“Krieger?”

“No, Allie Long.  You, her, and Tobin are like the three biffles of the Thorns that we are of the national team.  So anyways, it’s Tobin’s birthday and you all take her out to some gay bar.  You get a little tipsy watching her get hit on as your teammates keep sending girls over.  You are just knocking back shots.  The team pushes her out onto the dance floor with some girl and you kind of just lose it.  You grab her and tell the girl to get away from her.  Actually hold on what did you say...It was something like, ‘get your filthy hands off of her and go find someone who isn’t taken.’” Kelley says with a chuckle before getting back to the story.  “Tobin gets a little mad at you, partially because I don’t think it was the first time you had cock blocked her, and starts arguing with you, saying you’re not dating and you need to give her space and stuff.  I don’t know if you actually registered most of what she was saying because then when she is trying to get your attention you just kiss her.  She pushes you back and looks at you confused.  I think you then said, ‘Tobin, I want this. I want you.’  Then you go in to kiss her again and she let’s you.  The rest is history.”

“Okay,” Alex nods, processing everything, “so I initiated it.”

“Very much so. Tobin had no clue you were anything but straight and she still questioned it for like a month until you told her you might turn straight if she kept asking.  I had never seen you guys as happy as when I saw you for the next game and we went out after. It was almost nauseating how lovely dovey you two were.”

“I don’t know Kel.”

“What don’tcha know, Alex?  Things take time.  You’re not just going to wake up and be like oh right I’m gay.  Well brain injury so maybe you will, but in general.”

“Can we talk about something else?” Alex asks.

“Yeah sure. Spit.”

“So what have you been up to?”

“Mostly just surfing or lounging around all week.”

“Kelley you said the surfing in Georgia sucks and it’s like 5 hours away.”

‘ _Shit_ ’ “Oh uh yeah.  I’m not in Georgia. I’m with Tobin,” Kelley admits.

“What?  You flew to Portland and never thought to mention it or the fact that you’re with her?  Wait.  Did she just hear this whole conversation?” Alex questions.

“No, no she’s asleep.  She needed a friend Alex.  I know you did what you thought was best but she is still really hurt.”

“Alright.  When are you guys flying back down?  Camp starts tomorrow right?”

Kelley bites her lips, ‘ _FUUUCKKK._ ’ “We’re already here actually.”

“Oh did you guys just get in?  You could have come over for dinner or something.”

“Yeah cause that wouldn’t have been awkward.”

Alex nods even though Kelley can’t see her.  “So how was the surfing in Portland?”

“Uh...I don’t think it’s that great,”  Kelley says.

Alex laughs lightly, “So you flew to Portland to surf crappy waves in the middle of winter?”

Kelley groans, “We weren’t in Portland.  We’re...uh…”

“Kel.  I may be a few years behind in our friendship but I can still tell when you’re hiding something from me.”

“I haven’t lied,” Kelley defensively replies.

“Kelley,” Alex scolds.  “What’s going on?”

“It’s really not my place to say.”

“Come on Kel,” Alex begs.

“Alex it’s really not my place to say.  Please don’t make me,” Kelley pleads.

“Fine.  I’m just gonna go.” Alex quickly hangs up before Kelley can protest.  She finds Tobin’s number and calls her.

After a few rings, she hears a groggy Tobin answer the phone, “’ello?”

“Tobin, wake up,” Alex says sternly. Tobin shoots up and is instantly awake, not catching the tone of Alex’s voice.

“Alex what’s wrong?  Did something happen?  Do you remember? Are you hurt?  What’s wrong?”  Alex almost feels bad but then gets back on point.

“What’s going on?”

“Huh?  What do you mean?”  Alex can hear the confusion in her voice.

Alex tries a new approach. “Is Kelley with you?”

“Umm yeah.” ‘ _Huh?_ ’ Tobin looks around. “Well like she’s around but like not in the room with me?”

“Did you guys go surfing today?”

“Yes.”  Tobin bites her lip not liking where this is going.

“Where did you go surfing?”

“Uh… the beach”

“Tobin.  Where are you?”

“In bed.”

“Tobin,” Alex snaps.

“Outside LA,” Tobin says in a soft voice.

“Did you even go back to Portland?”  Alex barks angrily.

“No,” Tobin says timidly, almost scared to speak.

Alex squeezes the phone in her hand tightly, “What the hell Tobin?”

“I just wanted to be close in case something happened.  I already had the house rented from before the accident for us so I figured why not use it.  I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but I wanted to give you space.”

“So you just lied to me?”

“No, Alex, please.  I was just worried about you and you didn’t want me at your parents’ house.  I swear I’m only here in case something happens and camp starts soon.  I already have all of my stuff.  I would have had to fly back in less than a week.  Alex...”  Tobin stops talking and notices there is a silence from the other end of the line.  “Alex.”  Nothing. “Fuck.  KEL.” Tobin calls Alex back.  It rings once and then goes to voicemail.  “KEL,” Tobin shouts again.  Kelley runs in.

“What?  What?”  Kelley runs in.  “What?”

“Alex just called.”

Kelley’s face drops as Tobin tries again, “Tobin I’m sorry.  I let it slip that we went surfing and that kind of snowballed but I swear I didn’t say much else.”

“It’s fine Kel.  She’s just hung up and won’t pick up when I call,” she groans as she hears Alex’s voicemail again.  “Should I go see her?”

“That might make it worse Tobin. She wants space so you showing up kinda is the opposite.”

Tobin screams and falls back onto the bed.  “Kel I feel like I’m drowning sometimes.  I’m trying to do what she wants but I can’t just turn off my feelings for her.”

“I know buddy.”  Kelley climbs in beside Tobin and holds her.

~~~

Pam walks in the front door and can hear music blasting from their small home gym.  She walks in and sees Alex squatting with a 50 pound dumbbell.

“Alex,” Pam turns the music off.  “What are you doing?”

“Working out,” Alex says out of breath as she puts the weight down.

“But with the music so loud?”

“I’m angry.”

“Why honey?  What happened?”

“Tobin,” Alex groans as she sits down on the ground, stretching.  “She’s here. She didn’t even go to Portland and Kelley’s with her.”

“Honey. She cares about you.  She just-“

“You knew?” Alex asks incredulously.

Pam sighs, “Yes.  She told me and your father so we would know where she was in case you needed her.”

“How could you not tell me?”

“You wanted space and she was doing that.  Just from a closer distance than you thought.  Sweetie you have to think about this from her side, she was ready to spend her whole life with you and now you don’t even want to be in the same state as her.”

Alex stops moving looking up at her mother hurt. “That’s not my fault.”  Alex’s eyes start to water.

Pam drops down in front Alex and hugs her.  “I know sweetie.  You need to do what is best for you.  I just want you to realize Tobin is trying to do what’s best for her while still respecting your wishes.”

“I’m trying.  It’s just too much... I still miss Serv.”

“I know. You’re just doing your best.  Have you heard from Jill recently?”

“Yeah.  We set up a time for me to come in to see the trainers next week.”

“Well that’s good honey.  Have you told your friends yet?”

“You mean the ones that lied to me?  No I haven’t.  I probably won’t now anyways.  I don’t know if I want to see the team just yet.  I don’t really know a lot of them and the ones I do know I don’t know the same.  I’ll see them at the San Diego game.”

Alex’s phone starts to vibrate but she ignores it, not even looking.  “Aren’t you going to get that?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, Alex.  You do realize they’re your teammates though right.  You have to get along with them and such.”

“And I will. Once I’m back on the team.  I just need them to know I don’t appreciate being lied to.”

Pam shakes her head and walks out the door, calling back to Alex, “Dinner in 30 minutes.”

~~~

Alex ignores all forms of communication from Kelley and Tobin for the next few days.  She works on getting herself ready, splitting days up between time in the gym and out on the field.  She asks Dawn for some workouts when she goes in to meet with Jill and the trainers.  Dawn runs her through some test to get a baseline.  She luckily doesn’t run into anyone from the team and rejects the offer to stay for the team meeting an hour later.  Each doctor’s visit yields the same result of the longer you go without getting your memory back the more likely it won’t come back at all but everything else seems fine.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all the comments. It makes me more motivated to write. Let me know what you like, predict, or even dislike about the story. The next update will be as soon as I can. I'm moving into my first apartment so Tuesday at the latest but most likely sooner.


	8. Death Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has some happy and some sad.

Alex finishes tying her shoes and stands up from the chair in the kitchen, heading to the field where she’s been training for the past two weeks.  She notices a gray SUV sitting in the driveway as soon as she opens the door.  She locks the door and then heads to the car.  She can see a head leaning against the steering wheel but can’t figure out who it is.  She goes to knock on the window when she finally recognizes Tobin sitting in the driver’s seat.  She grits her teeth and knocks on the window loudly.  Tobin jumps up and Alex can see her eyes are red and puffy.  She looks up at Alex, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

Tobin goes to open the door but Alex beats her to it, flinging it open.  Tobin slowly steps out.  They stare at eachother for a few moments, neither knowing where to start.

Tobin breaks the silence first.  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.  I was being selfish.  I…”  Tobin takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves and figure out what to say next after forgetting her preplanned apology.

Alex nods, “Yeah.  You were being selfish, Tobin.  I told you I needed space.  You’re being selfish right now.  If I wanted to talk to you I would have picked up the phone when you called or responded to one of your many texts. You said you would do anything to make me happy.”  Tobin nods, gripping her shirt over where the two rings hang hidden underneath.  

“Well I would be happy if you left.  I need to go train and you’re blocking my car in.” Tobin nods again, biting her lip to try and stop it from quivering.  She gets back in the car but Alex holds the door open, staring at her.  “You do realize I want to be friends.  I miss my friends.  I miss everything about my old life.  I’m alone.  I can’t be friends with you and Kelley if you’re going to lie to me and treat me like a child by going behind my back.  I just can’t do it.”  Alex slams the door shut and walks to her car as Tobin backs out.

~~~

It feels like forever but finally game day comes around.  Alex is bouncing as she walks to the car with her dad following behind, carrying her bag to the trunk.  He gives her a hug and wishes her good luck.  “Call us if you need anything.”

“I won’t dad but thanks.”  Alex gives him a tight squeeze before letting go and getting into the car.  She makes the drive to the hotel where the team is staying for their game against Ireland.  She heads to the front desk after parking to get her room key.  She won’t officially be with the team so she has a room all to herself away from players and staff. After dropping her stuff off in her room she decides to sit in the lobby until it’s time to head to the game.  The rest of the team is in their pre-game meeting so she brings a book to pass the time.  She sits in a large chair in the corner and pulls her book out of her bag.  She has only read a page before she feels something touch her knee.  She looks up and sees a young girl, maybe five standing in front of her with a big smile.

Alex smiles and leans down.  “Hi.”

“Are you Alex Morgan?” the little girl ask.

Alex nod, “I am and what’s your name?”

“Sam.”

Alex looks around for a second, after not seeing any adults nearby questions the little girl. “Where are your parents Sam?”

Sam points behind her to a woman who is standing at the front desk, talking.  “Okay.  Did you want to take a picture?”  Sam’s smile grows infinitely bigger and she nods her head up and down very fast.  “Why don’t you go see if your mom has a camera?”  Alex stands up and slowly follows Sam, who runs, to her mother.

“Mommy, mommy.  Can you take my picture with Alex Morgan?”

“Sammy what are you talking about?”  She looks up and then sees Alex following.  “Oh, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t even see her run off.  Sam what have I told you about wondering?”

“But mommy, it’s Alex Morgan.”

“It’s seriously fine. She isn’t a bother.  I actually kinda needed something like this today.”

“Mommy, mommy, the picture.”

Alex smiles while her mom pulls out her phone, “Okay Sam.”

Alex kneels down and Sam bounces over with a huge grin, showing off her missing front tooth.  Alex pulls her into a hug and they both smile towards the camera as a few photos are taken.  Alex says goodbye to Sam and walks back to her stuff.  

A few minutes later she sees the team walk out of a conference room and head to the elevators.  Not wanting to distract them before the game Alex waits until she sees them all leave before going to find Heif who will be driving her over.

He smiles when he sees her and goes in for a hug, “Hey kid.  How ya doing.”

Alex smiles as she hugs him back.  “Not bad.  Just ready to get back out there.”

He smiles, “Of course.  You’re all the same.  I don’t know why I even ask.”  He leads her out of the hotel. “We are going to put a statement out after qualifiers so for now don’t worry about it.  We’re going to try and keep you hidden today if that okay.”

Alex nods, “Thanks Heif.  I don’t really want to make a big thing about it.  I know something has to go out but I just want to put that behind me, get back on the field, and score some goals.” They get in the SUV, which Alex believes might be the same one that Tobin drove to her house less than a week before, and start driving.

“In case you don’t know this already, if anyone ever asks you something that you don’t feel comfortable with and I’m not their just say no comment.  If I am there, I can either answer it or avoid it for you.  You have a large support system here.”  Alex nods and they sit in silence until they arrive at the stadium.

Alex is led up to a private box where she can watch and not be disturbed.

As soon as the door opens Alex hears the high pitched laugh of a young child.  Seconds later she sees a young, blonde boy running straight towards her.  He runs straight into her legs and wraps his short, little arms around them.

“Al-ex, you back.” Alex looks around, confused, then she notices Amy come around the corner.  The mother catches onto Alex’s panic quickly and calls the boy over.

“Hey Ryan, why don’t you show Alex what you colored this morning?”  The little boy spins around and runs back towards a small table.  Amy comes over to Alex, hugging her tightly.  “Hey Al.  That’s Ryan.  I’m not sure if you knew about my pregnancy but I had a kid and am pregnant again.”  Amy says quickly before scooping Ryan up as he runs back over with some paper in his hands.  “If he’s too much right now I can take him for a walk, tire him out.”

Alex looks at the young boy and smiles.  “No it’s fine.  Let me see what you colored.”  Ryan holds out his hands with a large smile on his face.  Alex takes them and walks over to a chair with them.  Amy sets Ryan down and he runs after Alex, climbing up into her lap while she looks at the pictures.  “Wow Ryan.  These are really good.  Can you draw one for me next?”

Ryan nods, throwing his arms around her neck and quietly saying “Missed you.”

Alex looks down at the young boy sadly, not quite sure how to respond.  After a moment she responds, “I missed you too, little one,” and wraps her arms around him a little tighter

Alex watches Ryan color and tries to catch up on all the stuff she has lost memory of in Amy’s life.  Half an hour later the door opens again.  Alex turns around as Ryan slides off her lap and runs to greet the new visitors.  Alex hops up too as Sydney comes into the room.  As soon as Sydney sees Alex she runs to her, pulling her into a giant hug.  

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Sydney squeaks.

“I told you I was coming to the game,” Alex responds, shaking her head as they break apart.

Alex feels a tap on her shoulder and turns, finding Becky.  She smiles at the defender and hugs her too.  “Glad to see you back Al,” she says with a smile.

“Glad to be back.  I just wish I could be out there,” Alex says, motioning to the field.  Alex then notices the other people in the room.  She turns and smiles at them but before she can open her mouth Sydney grabs her hand and pulls her to some chairs near the window looking down onto the field.  

“You have to see all the pictures of baby stuff Dom is already sending me.” Alex looks as Sydney pulls out her phone and begins to scroll through pictures of sarcastic onesies, bibs and baby soccer gear. They look up when the noise level on the field starts to pick up and see that the team has come out for warm ups.  

She watches for a bit before the conversation of the younger players in the room interrupt her thoughts.  She looks at them again, recognizing Morgan Brian and Julie Johnston easily, but the other three she draws a blank.

~~~

The US wins easily and Alex heads down to the field level with the others.  She stays inside the tunnel at the end of the field hidden from view as her teammates gather their things and head towards the locker room after signing things for the fans.  Hope is the first one into the tunnel.  She is in her own head as she walks by Alex.  Alex smiles and reaches her hand out, smacking Hope’s butt.  “Wow Solo.  I figured you would have lightened up in old age.”

Hope whips around and grips Alex in a bone crushing hug, lifting her off the ground, before Alex even has time to register anything.  “You’re here,” the keeper breathes.  Alex smiles as Hope sets her down.  Before she can say anything in response she is swarmed by more bodies entering the tunnel.  She’s not sure who is who is but there are arms everywhere.  Her breathing starts getting heavy as multiple voices start welcoming her back and saying they missed her.  She tries to talk but can’t find her voice as she is overwhelmed by teammates.

A voice then bellows above the others.  “Hey guys.  Give her some space.  She doesn’t want to be touched by all your smelly, sweaty bodies.”  Alex feels the bodies lessen until just Ashlyn is standing in front of her with a large dimpled grin on her face.

“Um, hey Ash,” Alex says.  The blonde’s face drops.

“Well at least you remember my name.”

Alex sees the disappointment on the keeper’s face and tries to rectify it.  “Of course I remember your name.  I didn’t lose all of my memory just part of it.  I remember our Flash days.  I guess we just became better friends since I last remember.”

Ashlyn nods sadly, quietly adding, “Roomies for life.” Alex forces a smile for Ashlyn and they start to head towards the locker room.

Jill is standing near the door and smiles at Alex as she enters.  "Good to see you again Alex. You never know with injuries like yours but you just bounce back every time."

"Thanks Jill."

Alex takes a seat in the corner and looks around at the room of her teammates. They are all in various stages of undress and heading towards the showers.  “Bus is leaving in 30 minutes ladies,” Jill calls out as she heads with Heif to do a quick interview.

~~~

Alex sits with Ashlyn on the ride back, Ryan sitting on her lap, catching up on all that had happened with her in the past few years.  Alex sees a lot of pictures of Ashlyn, Ali, dogs, and the ocean.  Once they get to the hotel, Alex talks with Ali and follows her up to the room she is sharing with Heather.  Ryan doesn’t want to leave Alex so Amy tells them to call her if he’s becoming too much and she’ll be in Tobin or Kelley’s room.

The three adults spend the next half hour talking, catching up, and keeping Ryan entertained, until they get a call realizing they are late for dinner.  Ryan insists on a piggy back ride from Alex from the room to the restaurant which is a block away from their hotel.

They are the last ones there and squeeze into a booth with Amy, Becky, and Hope.  Ryan crawls over Alex to settle into Broon’s lap.  He begins to ask her an endless stream of questions about anything and everything which she happily answers. After they order,  Amy slides over the kid’s menu along with some crayons and Becky helps him try to get through the french fry maze for the next 10 minutes.

While they wait for their dinner Alex can feel eyes on her, but she keeps her eyes focused on her table mates.  Once Ryan is done eating he crawls under the table from where he sat with his mom to Alex.  He popped up between her legs startling, her.  “We go see Tob?” he asks.

“Ryan if you don’t get your butt back over here in this seat no dessert tonight,” Amy dictates.  She looks apologetically over at Alex who just shakes her head before digging back into her burger.  Ryan pops back up on the other side of the table.  “You can see Tobin when we are done eating.”  Ryan nods and starts coloring over the maze with all four crayons at once.  Alex chuckles to herself when she feels Becky’s shoulder slump next to her.

~~~

After Ryan gets his cookie, they are off, starting the walk back to the hotel.  Alex watches Ryan play with Tobin the whole walk back.  They hop over every crack in the pavement.  Ryan turns around every once in awhile to make sure his mom is still okay and following them. Tobin glances back once or twice and catches Alex staring right back.  Tobin quickly averts her eyes and looks down at the little boy again, continuing to hop.

Alex heads to her room and makes sure she has everything packed for the next day.  The team has an early flight to Dallas the next day and she will head home so she wants to double check to make sure she has everything.  Once she is satisfied, she climbs into bed and falls asleep quickly.

~~~

In her own room, Tobin lays across her bed with Kelley sitting next to her rubbing her back and Meghan in other bed.

“This is a big jump for her, Tobin.  Just let her settle with the team.  Also she knows it won’t be good for her spot if she can’t talk to you or Kel,” Meghan says.  Tobin nods but doesn’t pick her head up out of the comforter. “She also will have to work with you up in Portland, so you have time there too.”

After a few more minutes of talking Kelley gets up and heads to her own room and Tobin crawls under the covers, saying goodnight to Meghan.

~~~

Alex heads downstairs early the next morning for breakfast before most of the team heads to Texas for qualifiers. She walks into the dining room a little nervous.  She doesn't know about a third of her teammates even though they know her.  Alex recognizes one of the few people already there and heads over with a smile.  "Hey Lys."

The keeper turns from her crossword puzzle with a welcoming smile and stands to hug Alex tightly.  "Hey Alex."

They both sit down and Alyssa pushes her newspaper away slightly.  “It’s really good to see you.”

Alex smiles, "It’s good to be back, even if just for the game.”

The two continue to talk as the room starts to fill up.

Alex looking around the room nervously as she feels a lot of eyes on her.  Two hazel eyes in particular are getting closer.  Alyssa notices and steps away, taking the newspaper with her, as Tobin walks closer. "Hey," she says a little timidly once she’s only a few feet away. "Are you ready to meet all the newbies yet? Do you want me to introduce you?" Alex looks around at all the people she doesn't remember and nods.  Tobin smiles and turns around, "Hey Moe, come ‘ere a sec."  Morgan turns, giving Tobin a confused look at first but upon seeing Alex, starts walking towards them with a smile.  Alex returns the smile.

"So you're the new Tobin?" Alex asks as Morgan comes to a stop, recalling the last two new kid videos she had seen and the small interactions she had seen the day before.

Tobin laughs slightly as Morgan elbows the laughing midfielder.  "Yeah, I guess.  I'm trying to be more like Lauren though.  She’s cooler," Morgan snickers as Tobin puts her hand to her heart, pretending to be offended. "So you know who I am?" the young girl asks, her shoulders rising.

"I watched most of the past year's games, so I've seen you play. Also Tobin and Cheney were kind of fighting over you in New Orleans, so I’ve heard a bit about you."

Morgan turns to Tobin, "fighting over me huh.  Well, who won?"

"She did, obviously," Tobin says. “That’s why she got to retire and I’m still stuck here with you.  Come on Moby.  Keep up.”  She then turns to Alex, scolding her, "Alex it's very hard to reintroduce you to people if you already know them."

"Sorry Tobs," Alex says, testing out the old nickname, "I didn't know there was a proper etiquette for this."

"Well there is and you’re not following it,” Tobin says seriously.  “I'll catch up with you later Moe.  Come on Alex." Tobin pats Morgan on the back and throws up a peace sign over her shoulder as she guides Alex towards a tall blonde. _That's JJ_ Alex says to herself so as not to take it away from Tobin’s plan.

"Jules," Tobin greets. The blonde turns around and smiles wide when she sees Alex.  She starts to go in for a hug but restrains herself.  "Alex this is Julie Johnston aka Jules, JJ, the brick wall, or her favorite nickname, the beast." Tobin introduces quickly.

"Yeah. Please don’t call me that,” Julie laughs. “Do we shake hands?  Can I hug you?" Tobin shrugs and looks to Alex.

“Oh this part isn’t in the handbook,” she jokes to Tobin before turning to Julie and opening her arms.

Julie quickly wraps Alex in a hug, "Welcome back.  I really wanted to say that yesterday but we were told to give you some space."  

‘ _They were told?_ ‘  Alex raises an eyebrow in confusion but smiles anyway, "Thanks."

Tobin takes her around to the rest of the players that Alex can't remember, stopping among the players she does know but hasn’t yet had a proper greeting.

~~~

After breakfast Alex sits in on the team meeting before they all head to the airport and Alex starts her drive back home.

Kelley comes up to her as the team starts to load onto the bus.  “Are we okay?” she asks timidly.

Alex looks into Kelley’s eyes before a small smile starts to creep over her face.  She nods and the shorter girl jumps onto her, wrapping her arms tightly around Alex’s neck as she tries to stay upright.

“Just don’t lie to me again.”  Kelley nods her head in agreement as Alex continues, “You’re supposed to be my best friend.  I already don’t know everything that’s going on and you lying makes it worse.”

“Of course.  Text me or call me whenever.  I’m going to miss you not being there.  We’ve been through these things together for so long, I don’t want to do them without you.”

Alex nods in agreement, “Just go win this so I can join you in Rio.”

They hug again before Kelley steps onto the bus.  Alex hugs a few more people as the bus starts to fill up.  Soon it is only Tobin left standing in front of Alex, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her sweatpants staring down at her flip flop covered feet.  Alex looks at the white beanie covering her head and clears her throat, getting Tobin’s attention.

She takes a small step forward and looks up at Alex.  Taking a calming breath before starting, “So uh when I get back we should go up to Portland and uh...figure out what you want to do about our place and the team and everything.”

“Okay.  Sure,” Alex says, not used to seeing Tobin this anxious.  “Does the apartment have a guest room?”

Tobin nods, biting her lip.  “Yeah, uh…we-”

“Tobin, we gotta go,” they both turn to the bus door and see Kelley standing there apologetic.  “We need to get to the airport,” she repeats just loud enough to be heard.

Tobin nods, then looks back at Alex, “Well, uh, I guess I’ll see you in Portland in a few weeks.”  She steps around Alex and heads to the bus door as Kelley climbs back on.  

“Bye, Tobin,”  Alex says quietly as Tobin passes.

Tobin steps onto the bus and heads to her seat, the seat she used to share with Alex.  She sits down in the aisle seat and reaches into her shirt, pulling out her necklace as the bus starts to pull away.  She slides her left ring finger partially through the hole of both rings and then holds them close to her chest.  She looks up when she feels eyes on her and sees most of the team looking at her.  She can tell from the sad looks they all give her that they had most likely been watching her since her awkward conversation with Alex had started.

Tobin tucks the rings back inside of her shirt before pulling her headphones on and pulling her beanie down to cover her eyes, hiding the tears that everyone on the bus has seen numerous times in the past month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks you for all of your support. The next update will be Wednesday.


	9. Qualifiers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed some of the scores and stuff because Alex was on fire this year. It hurt not to have her score that 12 second goal.

Alex steps up her level of training as soon as she gets back home.  Following Dawn’s training schedule as well as finding an men’s intramural league to play with twice a week.  Every night she falls into bed exhausted, sore, sad, but also happy.

She spends her free time between workouts on the internet, going through past articles about herself, the team, and individual players both on the national team and on the Thorns but she ignores anything about her and Tobin.  She ignores everything about them together until she starts getting curious.  The day before the team’s first game against Costa Rica Alex decides to search _Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath_.  The first few articles she sees are from the past month.

_Did Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath call it quits a month after engagement?_

_Alex Morgan no longer wearing engagement ring_

_What went wrong...Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath separated_

Alex ignores these, scrolling past them, until she finds slightly older one.  The next few are less depressing.

_Alex Morgan engaged to long time girlfriend and teammate Tobin Heath_

_Alex Morgan is officially off the market._

_Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath engaged. FINALLY!  A look back at their 2 year relationship_

She clicks on the last one and takes a deep breath while it loads. Alex recognizes the first image from scrolling through her instagram account many times.  It is the picture taken of Tobin sleeping and Alex showing off her ring with the caption  ‘ _Can’t wait to call her my wife, now I just need to get her a ring.  This one’s going to be hard to beat. Any suggestions…? #Mrs &Mrs_’ underneath.

Alex scrolls through the next few which are more pictures from the engagement, including a few she hasn’t seen before.  Alex stops on one that shows her arms wrapped around Tobin’s waist and Tobin’s around her neck as they stare into eachother’s eyes, the sunset in the background making them appear to be just black silhouettes. Alex continues scrolling and sees it’s from Kelley’s instagram.  She reads the caption.  ‘ _So today I became a lifetime third wheel.  So happy for @tobinheath & @alexmorgan13.  You two are goals and I can’t wait to see you take the next step in life together.  #dibsonflowergirl #alsoitakebribesforthemaidofhonorcompetition #caniofficiatetoo? #iwontwearwhite #illjustwearfreckles_’

Alex shakes her head at Kelley’s ridiculousness and reaches for her phone, using, 0803, the new code she programmed to unlock it and opens a text.  

**AMorgs: Did you seriously write i'll just wear freckles when referring to coming naked to my wedding for the entire world to see?**

Alex puts her phone down, not expecting an immediate response and continues scrolling.  The photos then jump back to the beginning of their relationship.  

The section is labeled **_Before they got together_**. There are a few pictures from the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympics that Alex remembers   A picture of the two of them hugging during a WPS game.  There is a picture of them at the US Open both holding large bottles of champagne.  That’s the last picture Alex remembers. There are a few more in the section before a new section starts.

 **_2013 new year, new relationship (possibly)_ ** The next few are pictures from games, including one of Tobin’s face buried into Alex neck after Alex had scored against Canada.  There are a few where Alex has her arm either looped through Tobin’s or around Tobin’s shoulder.  When looking at the dates for the photos and sees March and April she knows this is before their relationship officially started but she can’t really tell based on the pictures.

Alex looks at each picture carefully, trying to bring back some small memory for each event before moving into the last section.

 **_It starts with a kiss_ ** The first thing in this section is a video clip.  Alex presses play and she sees Tobin walking up behind her, holding her tightly, and then what appears to be kissing the side of her neck.  They are both on a soccer field wearing large white t-shirts, medals hanging from their necks.  The caption underneath reads, ‘ _after scoring the game winning goal in the inaugural NWSL championship game, Tobin only wants to celebrate with one person._ ’  The next few pictures shows them both still wearing the same shirts surrounded by their teammates in a locker room. Alex’s arms wrapped around Tobin’s neck and Tobin holding Alex’s hips as they kiss and laugh as champagne is poured over them.

Before Alex can continue scrolling her phone vibrates next to her.

**Kel: OMG do you remember????**

**AMorgs: No. I just read it**

**Kel: Oh you read it...Whatcha up to Alex? ;)**

Alex looks back at her computer screen, seeing the happiness on both of their faces in a picture while Christine Sinclair aims a fizzing bottle of champagne at them before typing out a response.

**AMorgs: I’m trying to fill in all the blanks.  The thing with Tobin was a large one and it’s hard to understand some other stuff without knowing more about this**

**Kel: Your relationship with Tobin was the biggest part of your life.  What are you looking at?**

**AMorgs: I googled us and there’s an article that kinda chronicles our relationship**

It takes Kelley a few moments to respond

**Kel: The one called Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath engaged FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!?**

Alex shakes her head at Kelley actually finding the article as she types out a response.

**AMorgs: Yeah…**

Alex waits for Kelley to respond but instead gets a phone call from her.

She chuckles while she answers it, “Hello?”

“Hey, Al.  So what’s up?”  Kelley questions.

“You called me,” Alex replies, bemused.

“Alex,” Kelley coaxes, and Alex can feel the knowing eyes through the phone. “You are looking at pictures of a relationship you don’t want to remember.  You are also bringing it up to me in a roundabout way. I’m your best friend.  I know you better than you know yourself...wait that’s actually true cause you don’t remember stuff.  Anyways, I know you. You want to talk about it.  So let’s talk.”

Alex sighs, “It’s moments like these where I understand how you went to Stanford.”  Alex waits while Kelley chuckles before continuing, “I just am going to have to rely on her for so much in the next few months.  I don’t know if we’re going to be able to come out as even friends. I already hurt her every time I open my mouth.

“I’m going to have to go through our stuff and ask her which things are mine and what she wants from the stuff we share.  She’s going to help me with the team and just relearn everything about my life in Portland… and… and it’s all just getting really hard.” Alex feels a tear start running down her face.  Kelley starts to say something but Alex keeps going.

“I’ve missed so much of my career.  When I was looking online I saw that Ireland was going to be my 100th cap if I had played.  From what I remember I just played my 50th cap.  I’ve missed half my career.”  The tears are uncontrollable now as Alex walks to her bed and lies down.  

“Alex, listen to me.  You didn’t miss half of your career.  Your career isn’t over yet.  You’re going to come back and kick some ass with us and play until your 200th cap.  You probably won’t beat Lil’s record but you can try and beat Abby’s.  She always said she set her records for you to break.  Your journey back won’t be easy but you’re going to do it because the soccer field is where you belong.”

Alex smiles and takes a few calming breaths.  “Thanks Kel. Sorry. You should go to bed.  Big game tomorrow.”

“Yep. You can’t win gold unless we make it their first.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Good luck.  Night, Kelley.”

“Goodnight.”

The call ends and Alex crawls under the covers.  She opens twitter on her phone, sending out a tweet before putting her phone down and drifting off to sleep.

_Good luck @ussoccer_wnt.  I wish I could be there but I’ll be cheering you on from home.  All the training is over and the #RoadtoRio starts tomorrow.  #USAvCRC_

~~~

Alex watches the first game, by herself, on the couch in the living room. The game ends 4-0 after one goal from Carli and Crystal each and two from Christen.  Long after the game is over Alex sits on the couch while Sportscenter plays in front of her.  Mindlessly her eyes glaze over the replays of a basketball game.  She refocuses when a replay of the game she had just watched comes on.  After going through each of the four goals, Alex stands up and turns off the tv.  She grabs a sweatshirt, her keys, and soccer bag heading out the door.  

She drives quickly to the dark field.  She laces up her cleats and jogs onto the field with the ball at her feet. She spends hours jogging up and down the field between cones and imaginary players, shooting around invisible keepers.  By the time she climbs back into her car the clock on her dashboard reads 1:08 am.

~~~

Nine days later Alex sits on the couch again, her early dinner on a plate in front of her as the two teams walk out.  She watches Christen and Mallory specifically walking out, wondering which one would be sitting on the bench if she was able to play.  Or would it be her sitting on the bench and both of them playing.  She eats her pasta slowly as the game starts.  A few minutes in she has already put her food down, unable to keep her nerves contained as she jumps at every play.  So far nothing coming out of any of them.  Finally, in the 12th minute she jumps up when Mallory sends a pass into the box which Tobin runs back to to pick up and send into the back of the net after side stepping a defender.  She relaxes and picks her food back up, slowly chewing on it until Tobin kicks in another goal 25 minutes later on a bending free kick.  The half ends two goals later, Carli and Christen each scoring.

While the replays from the first half are shown she makes a deal with herself that if Trinidad and Tobago doesn’t score then she is going to send out a tweet to Tobin congratulating her on scoring the game winning goal.  She’s not sure if she wants them to score so she can back out from sending the tweet or if the good natured tweet will help her regain the friendship she wants back.

Either way, it is decided for her when the game ends 6-0, Mallory and Lindsey both scoring in the second half.  She sucks in a large amount of air, slowly releasing it while she picks up her phone.  

_Congratulations @ussoccer_wnt on qualifying for Rio and a big congrats to @tobinheath on scoring the game winner and then some_

She quickly sends it out before she can second guess herself and heads out the door to her second field practice of the day.

~~~

After dinner, Jill gathers the team for a meeting.  She congratulates them on their win but reminds them that they are here to win the tournament.  Tonight they celebrate but tomorrow their focus needs to shift to Canada.  

Kelley walks out of the room with Tobin, scrolling through her phone.  She stops abruptly and Tobin turns to look back at her.  “What?”

Kelley looks up and holds her phone out to Tobin.  “Alex mentioned you in a tweet.”

Tobin snatches at the phone, “What?  Why?”  She quickly reads the message and a smile starts to grow from her lips.  

Kelley can’t help but smile when she sees Tobin’s.  “Have you guys talked since the start of this?”

Tobin shakes her head, handing the phone back. “Not since the bus.  I didn’t really know what to say and it’s not like she has tried to talk to me.  Have you?”

Kelley nods, “Every day.  Normally just asking about how training is going and stuff.”  Tobin’s face drops a little.

They continue walking to the elevator, the rest of the team already back in one room or another.  Kelley presses the button for their floor.  “Do you want to come watch a movie in Mewie’s room?”  Tobin shrugs but nods in affirmation and they head down the hall when the metal doors slide open.

“What do you think the tweet means?” Tobin questions, chewing on her lip.

Kelley glances to the side, seeing the nerves on the midfielder’s face.  “This is the first time she’s mentioned someone specifically in a tweet.  The rest have just been directed at the team.  I think it’s her extending an olive branch.  You should text her if you’re comfortable with that.”  Kelley can see the gears spinning in Tobin’s head as she pushes open the door to Sam’s room, stepping around the case of water bottles propping it open.

After a while a movie is decided on and the lights are turned off.  A few minutes into The Martian Kelley sees Tobin pull out her phone and stare at it.  She leans over from her spot on the floor to Tobin, “A simple hi will suffice, Tobs.  Don’t worry.  Trust me.”

Tobin nods and unlocks her phone.  She opens up her messages easily finding Alex’s as she does most days to scroll through past messages.

**Tobin: Hey**

Feeling a little braver after the first one is sent she starts typing again.

**Tobin: Thanks for the tweet**

She sets her phone on her lap and looks up at the tv screen in front of her.  After what feels like an hour but based on the clock is only 10 minutes, Tobin opens her phone again.  No response from Alex.  Her face falls and she sets her phone back down.

Kelley watches the entire thing and picks up her own phone and sends a text.  She puts it back down and turns back to look at Tobin, who is just staring down at the phone in her lap.  

~~~

Alex stands up straight after wrapping a towel around her head.  She climbs into bed and pulls her laptop into her lap.  

She checks her email and social media sites.  She sees that the ussoccer_wnt retweeted her as well as a bunch of her teammates liking the post.  She scrolls through and notices that Tobin isn’t one of them.

Her phone vibrates from where she left it on the dresser.  She gets up, her body aching, and shuffles over to it.  She sees she has a few from Tobin and one from Kelley

She opens Tobin’s first.

**Tobin: Hey**

**Tobin: Thanks for the tweet**

**Tobin: Would it be okay if I retweeted it and wrote something? It’s cool if it’s not**

Alex’s shoulders fall slightly as she makes her way back to bed.  She quickly taps out a response

**Lex: Of course you can retweet it.  I tagged you to make sure you would see it.  I know how bad you are with sm**

She then goes to Kelley’s message.

**Kel: Are you ignoring Tobin?  I won’t tell her if you are.  Just kinda thought you were trying to mend things**

Alex looks at the time stamps of all the messages and realize all but Tobin’s last text are from over an hour ago.

**AMorgs: No I’m not ignoring her I was at the field for a while and my phone was in my bag.**

**AMorgs: I just got out of the shower and saw all the messages.  Did she say I was ignoring her?**

Her phone vibrates as she hits send on the second message.

**Tobin: I just wanted to make sure because other people can see it**

Alex’s smile falters at the thought of Tobin not posting something just because she thinks Alex doesn’t want to be associated with her anymore.

**Lex: Tobin you can tweet whatever you want.  Also this is about soccer**

**Tobin: I know but the fans can go a little crazy.  Have you seen all the are you back together tweets just because you said nice goal**

Alex stares at her phone for a second, confused.  She quickly pulls her computer closer and looks through the tweets from unverified followers.  

Tobin’s generalization of the tweets are much nicer than most of the ones she sees.  She digs a little deeper than she most likely should and realizes that there is a whole thought processes on their break up that is running amongst the fans.

They aren’t quite sure what Tobin did to make Alex so mad but they all fully believe Tobin is the one in the wrong.  She scrolls through a few pictures they took with fans at the airport where it is zoomed in on Alex’s blank ring finger and Tobin’s engagement ring clad finger.  There is then a picture of Tobin curled into herself which Alex recognizes as soon after she gave her back the ring.

Alex’s breath catches in her throat when she realizes that one of the worst possible times of Tobin’s life was immortalized on the internet.  She thinks about how many times Tobin has probably had to see this picture, reminding her.

Alex closes her computer and slides it away after seeing a close up picture of their engagement rings on a chain. She picks her phone back up and quickly types out an apology to Tobin.

**Lex: I’m sorry they all think you’re the reason we broke up.  You can post whatever you want.**

She opens Kelley’s response.

**Kel: I could tell as soon as you texted her.  I just think you should know how happy you make her, even when just talking as friends**

**AMorgs: I just want to be friends again.  I think she gets that too**

**Kel: She does but she’s still working through things.  It’s going to be a while**

Her phone vibrates with a text from Tobin, as she types back a reply.

**AMorgs: I know but she’s trying and that’s what I want**

Her phone vibrates again, this time with a notification from twitter.

**Tobin: I really don’t look at the stuff that much.  They kinda started going crazy once we we were found out**

**Tobin: We both freaked out with how many times we were mentioned and stuff when we woke up that next morning.  We went public officially just to get them to calm down**

**Lex: And how did that work out.  It seems pretty crazy still from what I can see**

She opens twitter while waiting for Tobin to respond.  She sees Tobin retweeted her tweet as well as mentioning Alex in her reply.

_Well @alexmorgan13, you told me you wanted to go to Rio.  @ussoccer_wnt did our part, now you do yours and get back out on the field._

Alex smiles at it as she types a reply.

_Don’t worry @tobinheath & @ussoccer_wnt I’ll be there _

Tobin finally sends her response.

**Tobin: It’s still pretty bad but they had been invading our privacy trying to get shots of us being a couple as proof.  Once we were out they didn’t need proof.  We just were a couple so there were still pics and stuff but the stalkerish stuff kinda stopped**

**Lex: Was it really that bad?**

**Tobin: You’ve been a really big name since London so there’s that.  Then the possibility of you being bi was just a lot for people to handle.  Like too much**

**Lex: What do you mean?**

Alex can see Tobin type and then erase her message a few times.  She finally receives her response after putting her laptop on the desk and crawling into bed.

**Tobin:  There were threats made**

Alex’s mouth falls open as she types her response

**Lex: People threatened me because I was dating a woman?**

**Tobin: Not exactly**

**Tobin: They were kinda more aimed at me**

Alex quickly starts to type out an apology but Tobin beats her to it.

**Tobin: Don’t apologize**

**Tobin: We got through it.  They were all blank threats**

**Lex: I’m still sorry you had to go through that**

**Tobin: We got through it together**

**Tobin: I’m super tired from the game and we have recovery tomorrow so can we keep talking later?**

Alex can feel the hopefullness from Tobin all the way from Texas.

**Lex: I’m surprised you even told me and didn’t just fall asleep midtext like you normally do**

**Tobin: You think you’re being funny but you’re actually to blame for that.  You got really annoyed once when it happened in the middle of the day .  You were in nyc and thought I had been murdered**

**Tobin: Allie burst into the living room scaring me half to death with a very large kitchen knife**

**Lex: I’m sure there was a good reason to think you were dead considering it was the middle of the day. But anyways you did amazing tonight.  I’m so proud**

**Tobin: Thanks.  Night**

**Lex: Night Tobin**

They continue texting everyday.  Tobin asks Alex how her training is going and sends a recommendation from Christen for a good trainer.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like this chapter?  
> Next update will be in a few days


	10. BAON PDX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish this was a super happy chapter following today's loss. There's a slight shred of hope in the story but I wouldn't read this just yet if you need happy. I didn't really edit this chapter but I wanted to post so sorry if there are any errors.

Alex sits at the gate impatiently, watching as the jetway slowly connects to the plane.  She glances at her watch for the third time since the plane stopped in front of the windows. ‘ _Oh my God. Let’s go._ ’

She looks at her phone again.  Rereading the texts.

**Tobin: Plane just landed.  Don’t wait for me.  I’ll catch the next one if I don’t make it**

**Tobin: I’ll have Allie pick you up from the airport**

The large metal door behind the desk is opened.  Alex stands, pulling her bag up onto her shoulder and walking closer.  When she gets to the retractable belt used to form lines she stops and waits, looking down through the open door.  After a few seconds she sees Tobin round the corner and sprint up the walkway.  

“I told you not to wait,” she huffs when she sees Alex.  “Let’s go,” she calls as she exits the door, full sprint.  She grabs Alex’s wrist with her free hand, the other pulling a carry on behind her, as she runs by, dragging the forward with her.  Once she sees Alex is keeping up she releases her wrist. “I am so sorry,” she calls out as they dodge suitcases, people, and strollers.

They reach their gate, running up to the ticket agent.  Tobin pulls her ticket out of her pocket, crumpled and folded, handing it to the woman standing there as she tries to regain her breathing.  

“Glad you made it,” the older woman says in response as she hands Tobin back her ticket with a smile before taking Alex’s pristine piece of paper.

They board the full plane and head to their seats.  “You know you could have gotten on the plane without me,” Tobin comments.

Alex turns her head around to look at Tobin behind her, “I have no idea where I’m going, who were meeting, or what to do when I get there.”  She slides into her seat and watches Tobin pull her bag up next to her before continuing as she reaches up.  “Also you have the keys to the house so I wouldn’t be able to get in until you got there.”

Tobin stuffs her bag into the overhead compartment while responding, “Allie has a spare set of keys.  How do you think I had your clothes shipped to your parents house?”  Tobin forces the lid closed and sits down next to her.  She starts fussing with her seatbelt when she senses Alex nervousness and reaches out, lightly placing her hand over Alex’s sweatshirt covered arm.  “We can go as fast or as slow as you want with meeting the team when we get there but it might be easiest if we meet most of them before we leave.  With preseason starting soon and we won’t be here for a lot of it the earlier we start, the easier it might be.”

Alex weakly smiles, “We only have a week until camp starts and we have to leave again.”

“So we’ll just meet as many of them as we can.  We also might need to get some other stuff sorted out with the apartment.  We just need to start somewhere.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asks, turning her body towards Tobin.  

“I figure you might want to do some rearranging once you see the apartment, that’s all,” Tobin replies with a shrug.  “We’ll make a list of everything you want to do in Portland once we get there.”  Tobin kicks off her flip flops, then turns to Alex, suggesting, “After dinner though maybe.  I didn’t eat much before getting on the plane and then we were stuck on the runway waiting to take off.” Alex smiles as she bends down to her own bag, while Tobin continues, “I just want a nice juicy burger, or maybe some pizza.” Alex sits back up while Tobin continues to ramble, “Or what about sushi.”  She holds out her hand to Tobin, who looks down with a smile, “You are an _amazing_ human.  Did you know that?”  Tobin takes the granola bar out of Alex’s hand, tears the wrapper off, and has the first bit in her mouth all within 5 seconds.

Alex turns back to her bag as Tobin savors the granola bar and the plane prepares for take off.  

~~~

After a drawn out game of monopoly deal and six bags of pretzels they are able to debark the plane.  As they wait in line behind their fellow passengers Tobin turns her body sideways to face Alex.  “What kind of food are you in the mood for?”

Alex thinks for a moment, before responding, “I’m not sure.  Pizza’s always easy though.”

Tobin nods then moves a foot forward into the open space. They exit the plane and Tobin directs Alex towards baggage claim.  They get stopped quite a few times on their way through the airport.  Each time Alex can see their eyes flicker down, first to Tobin’s left hand and then her own.  She lets Tobin do most of the talking, only thanking them for their support and answering a question or two.

When they finally arrive at baggage claim the bags have just started circling the belt.  They pick Alex’s bag up within a few minutes but once every bag has gone by them Tobin groans and starts trudging towards the lost baggage window, muttering.  “This has been the travel day from hell.  At least we’re home.”  Alex slowly trails after her, looking around what Tobin just referred to as home, getting to her just as she finishes writing down the address to bring her bag to.

She thanks the woman then spins around, taking her snap back off, running her fingers through her hair.  She replaces her hat with a groan before looking over towards Alex, a soft smile spreading across her face.  “So pizza?”

Alex shrugs, “Whatever you want.  Pizza to me just seems like the easiest right now.” Tobin motions towards the glass doors with her head and they both start to move in that direction.  She pulls her phone out of her pocket with her free hand.

After a few seconds she brings the phone up to her ear.  Alex listens to Tobin order them each a pizza.  She can hear the familiarity Tobin has with the person on the other end of the phone and her curiosity about their life in Portland starts to peak again.

Tobin leads them to a cab parked nearby and after helping Alex get her bag in tells the driver their address.  Tobin watches Alex take in their surroundings during the twenty minute drive.  The forwards eyes taking in everything.  Tobin watches her face, hoping to see some semblance of familiarity flash in the younger girl’s eyes but they remain unchanged.  When the cab finally stops Tobin pays while Alex slowly gets out, looking at the place she called home but now has no recollection of.

Tobin grabs their bags from the trunk and walks around the car to Alex.  She stands next to the younger girl for a minute, letting her take everything in before lightly knocking their shoulders together.  “Come on.  Let’s head in.  Pizza will be here soon.”  Alex follows Tobin to the front door, looking into the windows of the two cars that sit in their driveway.  She stops on the small porch while Tobin pulls a key out of her pocket to unlock the front door.

Tobin pushes the door open but doesn’t step into the house.  She turns to Alex and with a light touch to the small of her back guides her through the open door.  Alex looks around from her spot inside the doorway.  She stands just behind a dark gray couch in their living room.  She can see an open doorway which leads to a kitchen as well as a dark hallway that she assumes is where the bedrooms are.

Alex takes in the living room more closely, walking around the couch.  There is a longboard on the floor next to the tv, a worn soccer ball resting on top of it.  There are a photos scattered around the room.  One from the world cup but the rest are more casual.  The two smiling up at the camera while lying down together at the beach.  A shot from behind while they walk down the street holding hands.  There are also pictures of them with what Alex assumes are her Thorn’s teammates and the national team.  Alex hears Tobin moving around but continues looking through each photo, hoping to remember one.  It isn’t until she gets to the last one that she finally recognizes something.  It’s a picture of her, Tobin, and Kelley each biting into their gold medals in the locker room after they had beat Japan in the 2012 Olympics.  Alex smiles at the picture, picking it up off the table it was sitting on.  

Alex jumps when she hears Tobin come up behind her, “That’s one of your favorite pictures.  You said it’s what started it all.”

Alex goes to open her mouth but there is a knock on the door before she can speak.  Tobin turns her head real quick, looking at the door.  She then fully turns and starts walking, calling back, “I’ll get the pizza can you grab some plates from the kitchen?”

Alex watches Tobin open the door and start talking to the person on the other side.  She wanders into the kitchen and stares at the 6 white cabinets above the counter.  She thinks for a moment before moving to the first one and opening it.  She is met with boxes of cereal, sugar, flour, and spices.  She closes it and moves to the next.  Glasses.  She takes two out, putting them on the counter before closing the door.  She is about to open the next one when she hears Tobin walk in.

“Oh, right,” Tobin says, sliding the pizza boxes onto the four person table.  She walks to the last cabinet and pulls out two plates.  “Sorry.  I forgot that you...wouldn’t remember.”

Alex smiles.  “That kinda seems like a really bad pun,” she jokes.

Tobin flashes Alex a large smile, as she puts the plates down in front of two chairs next to each other.  She walks over to sink, grabbing the two cups and filling them with water.  Alex moves to the table and sits down in the closet chair, reaching for the pizza.

Tobin sits down in the other seat and looks around the room.  Alex glances over at Tobin, “What?”

Tobin refocuses on Alex, shaking her head, “Nothing,” while grabbing a slice of her own pizza.

Alex raises an eyebrow at Tobin, skeptically.  Tobin takes a bite of the slice in her hand, looking at Alex out of the corner of her eye.  Her shoulders slump and she sets her pizza on the plate.  After a few seconds she finishes chewing and swallows.  “This is normally your seat and I sit there,” Tobin explains, motioning towards the seat Alex is sitting in.  “I’m just not used to seeing the kitchen from this angle.”

Alex’s face turns apologetic and she starts to stand up.  Tobin’s hand reaches out and catches Alex’s shoulder.  “Don’t.  It’s fine.  A little change isn’t bad.”

“Are you sure?  I don’t mind switching.”

Tobin takes another bite, smiling widely around it.  She garbles something out, her words incoherent through the food.  Alex rolls her eyes, “Try that again.”

Tobin forces the food down with a large gulp, “I can sit here,” she repeats.  “A little change won’t hurt me.”  Tobin solidifies her statement by leaning back and propping her feet up on the chair next to her, across from Alex.

Alex smiles, “Alright.” She takes another bite before asking, “So can you tell me about the Thorns?”

Tobin nods, “Yeah.  Do you want like just the players, or like... I don’t know.” Tobin restates the question, “What do you want to know?”

Alex shrugs, “What should I expect?”

“Coaching wise I don’t actually know the answer to.  Mark’s new obviously so I don’t know how that’s going to work out.  Probably better than the last two years but we can talk about that later.  Ali, Ash, and Crystal said they like him though so that should be good.  The stadium is crazy.  I assumed you watched some games but Portland really is a soccer town.  We get more fans than some of the National team games.  Nothing like the WPS.”

“Yeah I noticed.  That’s really amazing,” Alex interrupts.

Tobin nods before continuing, “The team is good.  I don’t know any of the newbies or trades except Lindsey.  You met her.  Tall. Blonde. Young. Midfielder. Went to France for some reason instead of UNC.”  Alex nods in recognition as Tobin continues in between bites of pizza.  

They continue talking about the Thorns, their teammates, and the other teams well after the pizza has gone cold.  Alex eventually feels her eyes starting to get heavy but before she can say something Tobin stands up, grabbing their plates and bringing them to the sink.

She looks back at Alex, “Come on, sleepyhead.  I’ll show you where the bedroom is.”

Alex can’t help the yawn that she covers with the back of her hand as she stands up and follows Tobin into the now dark living room.  Tobin flips on a light and heads down the hallway.  Once she reaches the end of the hall she opens a door and walks in.  Alex sees her two suitcases sitting in the middle of the floor before taking in the rest of the room.  

A queen size bed covered in a dark teal comforter. Alex can immediately tell which side of the bed each of them slept on.  On the right side of the bed Alex sees a surfing magazine sitting haphazardly on the night stand.  On the left side, next to the alarm clock and on top of a pile of magazines, there is a picture of the two of them kissing. Alex stares at it for a few seconds before she is brought back out of her trance by Tobin.

“Oh sorry,” she quickly moves around the bed, picking up the picture, holding it against her side.  Tobin glances around the room, checking to make sure there are no more pictures before turning back to Alex.  “So uh the bathroom is right through there,” she points to a closed door on the other side of the room.  She walks to a pair of double doors along the same wall as the bathroom, opening them to reveal the closet.  “Your clothes are all on this half,” she motions to the right half of the closet.  “And then you have more stuff in the drawers over here.”  Tobin walks over to a wooden dresser on next to the door they had just entered from.  “Your sleep stuff is right here,”  Tobin opens the third drawer.

She looks around the room, running her free hand through her hair and taking a deep breath.  “Uh… I think that’s it.”  She turns to Alex, “I miss anything?”

Alex shakes her head, “I don’t think so.”

“Cool.”  Tobin walks towards the door but stops before entering the hall. “I’ll just be across the hall if you need anything.”  

“Thanks.  Night Tobs.”

Tobin eyes flick towards the bed before they turn back to Alex.  She forces a smile and bids Alex a good night, closing the door behind her.  Alex hears another door open and close a minute later while she looks around the room again.  She quickly changes and gets ready for bed.  

~~~

The next morning Alex wakes up to a soft knock on the door, she rubs her eyes and lets out a long yawn before rolling out of bed.  She makes her way to the door, continuing to  rub the sleep from her eyes while she opens it.  She finds Tobin, standing in front of her, wrapped in a towel, hair dripping water down to the floor.

“Sorry,” Tobin apologizes, “my clothes are all dirty and I forgot to grab something last night.  You can go back to bed. I just…,” She motions with her head towards the closet.

Alex backs out of the door frame with another yawn and a head nod, heading to the bathroom.  Tobin quickly grabs a few things before heading back to her new room.

After getting changed Tobin heads back across the hall, knocking on the closed master bedroom door.  After not hearing a response she opens the door and peeks in.  She hears the shower running and steps into the room, knocking on the bathroom door loud enough for Alex to hear over the water.  She opens the door slightly but keeps her head down, respecting Alex’s privacy.

“What’s up Tobin?” Alex asks, her head sticking out of the shower door, seeing the top of Tobin’s head.

“I’m going to head to the store cause we have no food.  Is there anything you want while I’m out?”

“Uh. You know what I like. Just keep it healthy.”

“Yeah, sure.  I’ll be home in a few hours.  Text me if you think of anything or need me to come back.” Tobin pulls her head away and the door closes.

“Oh, Tobin,” Alex calls to the closed door.  Tobin’s head pops back in, Alex can just see her nose at the edge of the door.  “Can we go take some shots tonight?”

Tobin nods, “Yeah, let me know and we can head over whenever.”  Tobin closes the door again and heads out of the house.

~~~

Tobin pushes the front door open with her hip, struggling to hold four full bags of groceries.  She walks towards the kitchen while looking down to her feet to keep herself from tripping.  She puts the bags down on the counter next to the fridge before heading back out to get the rest.  She stops in the doorway to the living room.

She looks around and notices the differences.  There are pictures missing, Tobin’s longboard no longer in the corner, the tv pushed against the wall next to the kitchen.  On closer inspection she notices that the only pictures missing are ones that were of both of them.  Tobin forgets about the open door and the rest of the things she left in the car, heading down the hallway.  

“Alex?” she calls out.  No response.

She continues walking, standing in the open doorway to the bedroom she used to share with Alex.  She finds Alex sitting cross legged on the floor with her laptop, Kelley’s face on the screen talking quickly.  Tobin knocks on the door frame before noticing the white headphones leading up to her ears.  

She walks into the room, moving around to Alex’s side so as not to scare her.

Alex turns when she sees her and smiles, “Hey, Kel,” Alex interrupts.  “I’ll talk to you later.”

They say goodbye and Alex closes her laptop, looking up at Tobin.

“So I see you started redecorating already,” Tobin mentions as Alex stands up.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Alex chews on her lips, “I actually wanted to move the couch if that’s okay, make it easier to get to the kitchen.”

“Oh.  We...where…,” Tobin starts.  She let’s out a long breath, “Sure.”  She tilts her head to the side, “Let’s go.”

Tobin helps Alex move the couch around so it stands opposite the TV, the whole room being rotated 90 degrees.

~~~

Throughout the week Tobin slowly works through introducing Alex to some of the Thorns.  On the second full day they plan on having lunch with Allie which ends up turning into dinner as the two seem to reconnect instantly.  Tobin hears the two playfully bickering in the living room while she cooks them dinner. Tobin walks Allie to her car well after they finish dinner.

“That was fun,” Allie says with a smile, looking back towards the house where Alex is doing the dishes.

Tobin bobs her head, eyes pointed towards the ground.  “I’m glad she is relearning who her friends are,” she says before chewing on her lip.  Allie steps away from her open door towards Tobin, wrapping her arms around her neck.  Tobin tightly wraps her arms around Allie’s back.  “She’s relearning everything but our relationship.  I want her just to try but she can’t do that until she’s ready and if I push her it will drive her away.  I just don’t know what to do, Al.”

Allie pulls back slightly, looking down into Tobin’s eyes.  “Tobs,” Allie starts, “when you proposed that was the happiest I had ever heard her.  When she called me the next day she couldn’t even focus.  She was so happy, she sent me like 50 pictures of the ring even after I told her I was with you when you picked it up.  Even if her mind doesn’t remember her body might.  Give it time.”

“I have been.  We’re going on 3 months.  I don’t think I can’t wait any more.  She said the doctors are giving up hope that her memory will ever come back.”

Allie drops her hands from Tobin’s shoulders, crossing her arms.  “What does that mean?”

Tobin sighs, “I think I need to give up on her remembering.”

“Do you still love her?” Allie questions pointedly.

“Of course.  I just don’t think she’s ever going to love me back or even want to try.” Tobin takes a shaky breath, “I need to start accepting that, even if I don’t agree with it.”

“Tobin, come on,” Allie pleads.

“It’s what she wants.  I will do anything to make her happy even if it kills me,” Tobin stoically utters, keeping her eyes dry.

Allie pulls her into another hug, holding her tightly.

“Don’t give up just yet.  She’s got a lot going on.  Giver her time. I promise you even if she doesn’t remember what you used to have, she _is_ going to fall in love with you again.  ”

Tobin shrugs her shoulders.  Allie sighs, squeezing Tobin’s shoulder once before climbing into her car.

~~~

They meet a few others, including Mark so they can fully explain everything that is going on.  He has Alex meet with the trainers who upon receiving an official  doctor’s note, clear her to play.

Tobin then takes Alex on an official tour of the stadium.  Tobin starts in the locker room, showing Alex her locker.  They then work their way to the field, with a ball under each of Tobin’s arms.  They fool around with the ball for a little while, Tobin defending against Alex as she tries to get shots off.

~~~

Alex sits on her bed cross legged, typing a list of what she needs to pack before they leave for camp tomorrow.  The familiar ring of a skype call starts playing over her music and she looks up from her written list that she is copying to her computer.  

_Kelley O’Hara calling_

Alex accepts the call and smiles at the screen when Kelley’s face fills it.

“Alex!” Kelley’s voice calls through the speakers.

“Hey, Kel.”

“Well don’t you look comfy in bed.  What are you up to?”

“Making a list of everything I need to bring for camp.  I feel like I’m going to forget something.”  She holds her finger up to the screen. “Don’t,” she commands until Kelley’s mouth closes, looking like a scolded puppy.  “Also, like, I don’t know what outfits I own anymore.  I’ve just been wearing workout stuff and sweatshirts all week.”

“Ooo.  Let me help.”

“Oh-kay,” Alex draws out skeptically.

Kelley smiles at Alex through her computer for a moment before her face contorts into fake annoyance.  “Take me to your closet silly.”

Alex groans, but stands up none the less, carrying the laptop to her closet and setting it down on a shelf.

“So do you have all your soccer stuff.  Boots, shin guards, pink prewrap, yada yada yada,” Kelley babbles.

Alex nods her head, “That’s all I got though.  It’s more the other stuff.  Do we still go out as often, or more, or less?”

“It’s about the same. You could ask Tobin ya know.”

“She went to hang out with Allie before we leave.”

“Oh, well besides casual clothes to walk around in I would bring one or two fancy things and something fun to go out in for when we win.”

Alex starts looking through her clothes, holding things up to the camera every once in awhile, asking Kelley on her opinion.  After the 5th no from Kelley, Alex groans, “Ugh where are all my nice shorts.”

Kelley shrugs, “Did you search the whole closet?”

Alex bends down looking through drawers, “I’m doing that now.  I just can’t figure out where they cou-.”

Kelley looks up from her phone, staring at the empty screen that shows Alex’s bedroom.  “Alex?”  No response.  “Alex?  Where are you?  Alex?”

“Calm down,” Alex says popping back up.

“Where did you go?” Kelley asks, both eyebrows raised.

“Just searching for my shorts,” Alex replies.

“Did you find them?” Alex shakes her head, not able to meet Kelley’s eyes.  “Alex?  What happened?”

“I just...I found…”  Alex looks down to her hands then back to Kelley, searching for the right words.  Kelley looks at Alex expectantly.  “Did Tobin- Did Tobin and I have sex,” Alex asks in a whisper, her cheeks heating up.  Kelley’s eyebrows shoot up in shock for a moment before her hands move to her stomach and she begins to cackle.  Alex’s face gets redder. “Stop.  Stop laughing.”

“I---I’m sor...ry.” Kelley tries to breath out.  Alex glares at Kelley as she tries to regain her composure. Kelley takes a final deep breath before focusing on Alex fully.  “I’m sorry.  I must have heard you wrong,” Kelley smirks.  Alex continues to glare.  Kelley holds her hands up in defense, “Alright, alright.” She looks at Alex skeptically, “Are you sure you want to talk about this?”

Alex takes a moment before nodding.

“Okay, well simple answer.  Yes. Yes you two were...” a snicker escapes her puffed out lips as she tries to hold in a laugh.  Once she gets control she continues, “You two had sex.”

Alex nods, steeling herself for what is to come. “Like a lot? Did we… did we like it?”

“Alex,” Kelley leans close to the computer, trying to see Alex’s expression more clearly.  “What’s going on?”

“I just never really thought about that… part of our relationship before.  I like never really thought past the kissing part.  I guess I didn’t want to.”

“So why now,” Kelley asks.

Alex’s cheeks regain the color that they had just started to lose.  She looks down, slowly raising her hands to the level of the screen.   Alex holds up a white, silk babydoll with a black, lace trim for Kelley to see.

A sliver of a smile spreads across Kelley’s lips.  “That looks good on you Al,” she snickers.  

“Kel this is serious.  There are more of them… a lot more… like a whole drawer's worth.” Alex looks back down at the drawer full of colorful lingerie.

“You and Tobin have been together for a long time.  You enjoyed it… a lot.  You both did.”

“So… so we’ve talked about it before?”

Kelley shrugs, “Yeah, a bit, but it’s not like I couldn’t hear you guys sometimes.  After the World Cup, oh my-.  NO,”  Kelley interrupts herself. “After your engagement was so much worse.  Holy crap you-.”

“KELLEY,” Alex reprimands.

“What?” Kelley refocuses from her rambling.  “Oh right.  Sorry.  Any other questions?”

“Not that I want to ask...or really even want to know the answer to,” Alex mumbles as she puts the see through top back and closes the drawer.

“That’s fine.  If that changes though, you can always ask me,” Kelley states.

Alex chews on her lip, “I kinda hope you don’t know the answers to these questions.”

Kelley smiles, “You never know.  We talked a lot. You liked to tell me very intimate details to make me cringe, guess it was worth it now if you have any questions.”  Alex walks away from the computer dragging her suitcase closer.  She puts the few Kelley approved outfits into her suitcase then continues rummaging through the closet.  “Maybe you packed them away cause it’s winter,” Kelley suggests.

Alex runs her hand through her hair, searching the room with her eyes.  Alex hears a door shut and her eyes snap to the bedroom door.  “Tobin?” she calls out through the open door.

Alex can hear her rummaging around in the kitchen, “Yeah.”

“I need some help finding things.  Can you come here for a sec?” Alex calls back, looking right into Kelley’s sad eyes as she does.

A few quiet seconds go by then Tobin appears in the doorway, banana in hand. “What’s up?” she asks looking around the room.  Her eyes find the laptop, moving into the frame, “Hey, Kel.”

“Hey, Tobs,” Kelley smiles.

Tobin refocuses on Alex.  “So,” she draws out, “what’s up?”

“Shorts.  I can’t find them anywhere,” Alex gestures to the closet and dresser that she searched through.

Tobin swallows her bite of banana as she walks to the closet, “Oh, right sorry.  I forgot to tell you.  Those are on my side.”  She opens a drawer revealing a collection of shorts.  Tobin’s eyes drift to the closed drawer next to the one she just opened.  She bites her lip and looks up to see Kelley’s beaming smile and a mischievous wink.

Alex walks up behind her, oblivious to the thoughts running through Tobin’s mind, and starts pulling out a few pairs of shorts before neatly putting them in her suitcase.

Tobin looks around the room.  Nothing has changed physically except for some of Tobin’s clothes have been moved into the other room.  The room still feels different to Tobin, not as comfortable as it used to feel, not as homely, not as safe.

~~~

Tobin smiles as Alex talks to a teen boy in front of her.  They are waiting in line to go through security.  Tobin listens to them talk about Cal where he is headed next year.  They get to the front of the line and Alex wishes him good luck as they separate.

“Making friends everywhere you go,” Tobin comments as they slip their shoes off.

“You could have joined in,” Alex replies.

Tobin shakes her head, “And talk about Berkley?  No thanks.”

Alex smirks and walks through the metal detector. Tobin quickly reaches into her shirt, pulling her necklace off and slipping it into the gray bin.  She looks back at Alex making sure her movements went unnoticed before stepping through the metal detector.  She picks up her stuff, slipping her necklace back on while Alex bends down to retie her sneakers.

They get to the gate 45 minutes early.  Tobin, used to Alex’s over preparedness has gotten used to pretending their flight is 1 hour earlier so she’s always ready when Alex is.

They both sit behind magazines while they wait for their flight to begin boarding.  Lindsey shows up 5 minutes before they start boarding. Tobin drops her magazine into her lap.  “Cutting it a little close there, dontcha think kid.”

Lindsey collapses into the seat across from the older two.  “I couldn’t find my hair clips.  I think Moe stole them,” she grumbles.  “I’m gonna kill her.”

Tobin snickers while Alex just looks between the two confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to need some time before the next chapter is posted. I was using the games to boost me to write but now that they're out I have lost motivation temporarily. I am really appreciating all of the positive feedback.


	11. She Believes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had this written already and figured why not post it. I think most of you will hate me after this and maybe the next one(not sure how it's going to fully play out).

Tobin, Lindsey, and Alex walk into the hotel, dragging their two bags each behind them and heading for the front desk.  They all check in and head to the elevators, comparing roommates.  

Alex with Christen,  Lindsey with Mallory, and Tobin with Ashlyn.

They all head to their rooms to relax before the team dinner in an hour.

~~~

Alex walks into the room, peeking around the door to see if she’s alone.  Christen’s bags lie along the wall. As Alex walks deeper into the room she sees Christen sprawled out on the bed, facing away from the door, with headphones on typing away on her computer.

Alex puts her bags down and walks between the beds, lightly touching Christen’s shoulder.

Christen jumps up, clutching her chest.  “Oh my god,” she squeaks.

“Sorry.  I just wanted to let you know I was here.”

Christen sits up, moving her computer and turning to get out of bed.  She reaches her arms out and wraps them around Alex.  “You’re here.”

Alex chuckles, returning the hug, “Yeah.”

“It’s good to have you back.”

“It seemed like you were handling the goal scoring just fine during qualifiers,” Alex says, moving back to her bag to start unpacking.  

Christen laughs, “Oh the goal scoring I’m good with.  It’s been me and three rookies up there so getting you back is nice.  They might stop calling me grandma.”

“You’re older than me.  You know that right.  I can also call you grandma,” Alex jokes.  

“Barely,” Christen groans and and falls back on the bed, her bright smile still present.

~~~

Alex loves being back in camp with the national team.  Although it is a little weird for her with so many new players and the aging of the older players.

They all file into the locker room before their first practice.  Alex sits in front of her locker taking a moment to look at all of her teammates before she starts getting ready.  As her eyes scan to her left they land on Tobin.  Tobin tosses the shirt she just took off into her locker.  Alex’s eyes catch a glimpse of something reflecting light on Tobin’s stomach and she glances down.  She focuses more and notices that connected to a long silver chain are two rings, their engagement rings. She quickly looks away as Tobin looks up and starts to untie her sneakers.  Out of the corner of her eye she sees Tobin grab the rings and bring them up to her lips before pulling the necklace off to place in her bag.  Alex gets dressed quietly, trying to get in the right mindset for practice.

The first practice consists of loosening their muscles and just getting touches on the ball.  Alex groups up with Morgan and Carli to work on passing drills.    

Alex watches Tobin slip the necklace back on after practice, tucking it inside her shirt and patting the spot where the rings make a little bump right below her chest.

~~~

The next practice evolves into 5v5 scrimmages for two hours once Jill sees the team needs to add a little fun competition before the games start.

Jill puts Tobin and Alex on a team to see how they play together with their off the field struggles.  She notices right away that they don’t have the same chemistry that they used to.  Tobin is putting the ball where she thinks Alex will be but it ends up getting picked up by the other side more often than not.  The Alex that is on the field has a younger and less experienced mindset than the Alex that Tobin played with a few months ago.  Once practice and a fourth game of many missed passes is over, Alex walks up to Tobin, visibly upset.

“Are you trying to sabotage me?” Alex asks, standing over her.

Tobin looks up from untying her cleats. “What?” she asks astounded.  “No. Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” Alex says sarcastically, “maybe because you’re upset that I don’t want to be with you.”  The team looks on in fascination, not used to seeing the two argue over anything of real seriousness.  They aren’t sure what to do.  “If you would stop trying to do fancy little things and just pass the ball to me maybe we could have won one of those games,” Alex’s voice rising.

Tobin pulls off her shoes and socks and stands up, “Okay, Alex.”  She pulls her headphones out, grabs her bag, and walks towards the bus with her head down, barefoot.  Alex stares after her, confused, expecting more of a fight.

“Okay people, show’s over,” Kelley’s voice calls out as she moves closer to Alex. “You know Al, maybe some of the time it was your fault you weren’t making it to a few of those passes.  You guys used to be in sync and she would know where you were going before you did.  She’s still getting used to playing with you, we all are, she might just be holding on a little tighter to the old you.  Well not the _old_ you but ya know what I mean.”  Kelley pats her on the back, grabs her bag, and jogs to catch up to Tobin. Alex looks around at the rest of the team, some still staring at her, ‘ _Well fuck._ ’

Alex gets on the bus hoping to talk to Tobin and apologize but as she approaches Kelley waves her off.  Alex walks by and she sees Tobin leaning against the window, her hood pulled up and her hand gripping the front of her sweatshirt.

Alex sits in her usual seat in the row behind them and watches Tobin through the space in between the seat and the window.

~~~

In the days leading up to the first game, Jill keeps pairing them up to try and get back their chemistry. Neither of them bring up the dispute, both wanting to put it behind them.  Alex starts trying to get to the balls when Tobin would send them up to her and realizes they are actually putting her in great positions for scoring not that she tells this to Tobin.

~~~

Alex can’t help the huge smile that spreads across her face as the national anthem plays before their first game.  She then watches as her teammates shake hands with the English players.  She pulls on her penny before going to the final team huddle before the opening whistle.  She sits on the bench, cheering the team on through the scoreless first half.

As the team walks back out for the second half Jill lets Alex know she should expect to go in soon.  Fifteen minutes into the first half, Alex gets the nod to start warming up.  She jumps up with a pat on the back from Ashlyn and starts jogging back and forth.  She eventually comes on for Mallory near the 65th minute.

Alex quickly becomes part of the play with two shots on passes from Carli and Crystal.  The first going right into the keeper’s arms, the second tipping the keeper’s fingers before bouncing off the post and out for a corner.

Alex gets jostled in front of the goal as Morgan sets the ball down near the flag.  The young midfielder blasts the ball near the penalty spot where Crystal meets it, driving it into the back of the net with the side of her foot.  The entire team piling on Crystal as she runs to meet Morgan near the corner.

Alex ends up jumping next to Tobin in hug who unknowingly puts her arm around her before turning to see who’s next to her.  She smiles at the forward, patting her back “Congrats Lex.”  Before Alex can respond she disengages herself from the huddle and heading back to her spot.  Alex turns and watches her, confused as she heads back to her spot.

The final whistle blows 15 minutes later and Alex makes her way through both teams with hugs and handshakes.  She gets to the officials at the same time Tobin does.  After they finish the four handshakes Alex follows Tobin towards the trainers with waters.  “So how’s it feel?” Tobin asks, grabbing a water bottle.

“It feels great to be back on the field.  Wish I could have scored on one of the shots though.”

“Well you scored for me on my hundredth cap celebration game so maybe I’ll score for yours whenever it ends up being,” Tobin shrugs, squirting more water into her mouth.

Alex’s mouth falls open slightly, remembering what this game was for her besides her comeback.

Heif soon comes over to the two, letting Alex know she’s being requested for press time.  As she walks away with him he lets her know that her celebration game will be their next friendly.

“Why didn’t we talk about it before?” Alex questions.

Heif sighs, “Honestly, we weren't sure you were going to play today.  We figured we can celebrate it once it happens and the next game is Becky’s.  We would do it befor the Germany game but we want to give your family time to get to the game.”  

~~~

The team makes their way to Tennessee and begins training again.  Alex continues watching Tobin getting ready.  Each and every time she sees her carefully slip the necklace off, kiss her closed fist, and then place the chained rings in a small pocket of her bag.

The last practice before the game Alex clenches her fists before picking up her bag and moving out the door quickly.  She almost runs into Ashlyn as the keeper is heading into the locker room.

“Woah, woah, woah.  Alex calm down.  Where are you going so fast?  The bus isn’t leaving yet.” Ashlyn asks, putting her hands on Alex’s shoulders to stop her from moving.

“I just need some space from Tobin,” Alex admits.

“Well why don’t you come out and practice with us.  I was just going to grab my spare set of gloves but we still have another hour of practice.  Put your cleats back on and come drill some balls at my head.  That normally used to help when you were angry.”

Alex sighs, looking back at the door.  “Alright,” she bites her lip for a moment before continuing, “but can I try being a keeper?”

Ashlyn’s grin spreads across her whole face, her dimple on full display.  “I give you 5 minutes before you’re begging to switch.”

“If I win?” Alex smirks.

“When I win you have to score a goal in the game tomorrow?”

Alex’s lips rise into a smile, “Just give me a few minutes to change.”  

They both head back into the locker room, Alex quickly rechanging and walking out with Ashlyn’s arm thrown over her shoulder.  Tobin watches the two rebonding, she grips the rings  through her shirt and slowly makes her way to the bus.  

She can hear Alex shrieking as she walks  by the field.  Her eyes glance over and she sees Hope and Alyssa lightly kicking balls at Alex from alternating sides while she tries to stop them from going into the goal. Tobin gets on the bus, with her headphones on, blocking out all noise, and her sunglasses covering her eyes.

~~~

Tobin heads down to breakfast with Meghan.  As they approach the doors they can hear Ashlyn’s loud laugh.  They walk through the doors to see Ashlyn, Alex, Lindsey, and Kelley eating near the end of the long table.  Lindsey dramatically telling a story with her hands.  Meghan starts heading toward them while Tobin puts her phone down in front of the closest seat and heads toward the food.  

Meghan comes up to her while she is deciding on the perfect piece of toast.  “What’s going on bud?  Why are you sitting so far away from us?”

Tobin looks behind her at the four still laughing before turning back to Meghan.  “Whenever I’m near her, her smile isn’t as bright.  She’s still not fully comfortable when I’m there and she’s happy right now.  Her and Ash were really close before the… thing.  I don’t want to take that away from either of them.”

Tobin picks her slice of toast and heads to where she set her phone down before Meghan can comprehend Tobin’s reasoning.  Meghan grabs her food and goes back to her seat next to Ashlyn.  Kelley raises her eyebrow, silently asking what’s wrong.  Meghan just shakes her head and they both looks towards the midfielder who now has Hope sitting in front of her.

They watch as she picks at her eggs with a fork, swirling them around her plate while nodding absentmindedly to Hope’s words.  They turn back as Ashlyn starts telling Alex about the craziness of the World Cup celebration, harping on how drunk Meghan was.

After a few more minutes, they hear the door close and look up, seeing Tobin gone.  They turn to Hope, who is now chatting with Julie and Emily.

Kelley pulls out her phone.

**Kelley O’: Where are you?**

It takes until Kelley is back up in her room 45 minutes later for her to get a response.

**Tobin: I needed some fresh air.  I’ll be on the bus**

**Kelley O’: Do you want some company?**

Kelley doesn’t get a response.  She gets a little worried when she doesn’t see Tobin until she climbs onto the bus.  Tobin is sitting in the row of seats in front of her usual row, beanie pulled down over her eyes, her fist clutching at her shirt.  Kelley can tell that she is sleeping based on the slow, even rise and fall of her chest.

Kelley lightly taps her foot that is sticking out into the aisle as she walks by.  Tobin slowly pulls her hat up off of her eyes, noticing the bus filling up and leans back over, closing her eyes.

~~~

Alex comes in for Crystal at the start of the 2nd half.  The score stays tied at 0 until the board on the sideline is held up showing a large red 3 to indicate how much stoppage time is left.  Seconds later Mallory gets the ball and kicks it up to Alex.  She runs towards the left side, avoiding the defenders and running by them.  Just her and the keeper.  She knocks it in with her left foot, sliding to the ground.

She stands up quickly, arms in the air, running towards the sideline.  Tobin stops where she is standing a little above midfield and watches as Alex runs towards Ashlyn, jumping up into her arms.  Tobin squeezes her eyes shut before jogging back to her spot on the field, waiting for France to restart the game.  Kelley watches from her spot on the sideline after patting Alex on the back.

~~~

They travel back to Florida for the last game.  After their final practice, Jill comes up to Alex as she stands in the locker room joking around with Christen next to her.  Jill places her hand on Alex’s back and asks her to come talk to her.

They exit the door and Jill leads her back out to the field.  They sit on a bench near the edge of the field, watching as the keepers side step cones.

“So,” Jill starts, “you’ve been doing really well in practices and the games. You’re a step behind what you were before the accident but still steps ahead of everyone else.”

“Thank you,” Alex smiles.

“How have you been feeling? In the game and in practice?”

“Little more sore after practices then I used to but Christen told me we used to do yoga together so we’ve been doing that every day and it’s helping.  I have to tape a few extra joints but everything is great.  Stepping onto the field those past two games has been amazing.  It was so hard watching qualifiers from the couch.”

“Well you’ve put in an excellent amount of training during those two months.  It’s astounding how well you’re keeping up with everyone.  That France game really showed me that you deserve to start in the next game.”

Alex can’t hide the huge smile on her face.  “Does that mean…?”

“If you think you are ready, I want you in the starting line up tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Alex cuts in.  “I’m ready.  So ready.  Thank you.”  Alex leans over and hugs Jill.

Jill chuckles as she pats Alex on the back.  “You better hurry up or the bus is going to leave without you.  I don’t think you could stand another keeper practice.”

Alex jumps up, looking to the three diving around the field before turning back to Jill.  “Good point.  Thank you again.”  Jill continues to laugh while Alex takes off for the bus.

She climbs on just before the doors close.  She sits down in her usual seat, leaning forward to talk to Tobin through the opening between seats.

“Tobs,” she quietly calls to get the older girls attention.

Tobin looks up from her phone, turning to see Alex's smushed face between her seat and the unoccupied window seat.  She grins, “What's up?”

“Jill said I'm starting tomorrow,” Alex quietly announces, the proud look evident on her face.

Tobin mirrors the expression.  “That’s amazing.  How could she not though after that goal.”  Tobin holds up a hand, which after pulling her face away, Alex hits through the opening.

“This is a good sign right?  I mean we need to win to win the cup so her starting me has to mean she thinks I can score.  And no one thought I would be back this quick but Germany is ranked second and I'm starting.”

“I don’t think Jill ever lost faith Al.  She just didn’t want to throw everything at you too quickly.”  Tobin forces a smile and turns back around, continuing to type out a text.

Alex looks at Tobin confused for a moment but just sits back in her seat to text her parents.

~~~

Alex can’t keep the smile off of her face as she walks out onto the field behind Christen and in front of Morgan.  Slapping her hands down against each of her teammates a little harder then she remembers doing in previous games.  Her smile growing a even bigger as the national anthem plays.

In the first minute, Alex runs up field in front of Carli, calling for the ball, but the captain shoots, and it goes just wide of the post.  A few minutes later Carli gets the ball again, this time passing the ball behind Alex.  She doubles back, kicks the ball around the defender and shoots from the corner of the 18 yard box.  The ball goes over the frame and into the boards behind the net.

Alex gets the ball on a pass from Morgan then sending it far in front of her where Christen meets it.  Alex groans as the ball ends up bouncing off of the keeper’s chest and booted away.

Alex watches from the other half of the field as Germany picks up the ball after two bad US passes. It gets passed to Anja Mittag, who shoots it hard and fast along the ground from outside the 18.  Alex holds her breath while Hope dives for it, groaning when she sees it bounce off the back of the net and roll back out into Hope’s arms.

Alex glances up at the clock, 29 minutes in, as she moves back to the other side of the field for the restart of the game.

Five minutes later Alex sees Meghan get the ball, moving around a defender.  Alex starts running towards the goal, making sure she stays onside while she calls for it.  Just as Meghan gets over midfield she kicks the ball, sending up into the air, straight towards Alex.

Alex ducks her head as the ball comes right to her.  She lets it bounce against the field, outrunning the defender as she runs for the ball.  As she enters the box she puts her foot out, kicking the ball up with her toe, around the front of another defender.  She steps around her, volleying the ball into the goal before it can touch the ground.  She trips over the keeper, rolling out of it onto her feet.  The ball ending up under her foot, she kicks it back to her other foot, and walks away.  She can’t contain the smile she was trying to hold in when Christen runs over to her, arms in the air.  She glances towards the bench where Tobin has both hands in the air, clapping.  Alex can tell she is staring right at her, their eyes locking.  Tobin turns her hands into two thumbs up, holding them high over her head.

Alex’s smile softens, she holds eye contact for a few more seconds as the team hug breaks up around her and she starts jogging back to her spot.  

The game is slow for five minutes until Sam steals the ball and turns towards the goal.  She sends the ball in, it deflects and lands right under the keeper as she dives.  It bounces off her side and then into the back of the goal.

Alex stays in the entire game, only getting one more good chance at goal but the keeper gets to it first.  She collapses to her knees when the final whistle blows.  Tobin jogs over, holding out her hand.

“You’re back,” she grins.

Alex takes her hand, getting pulled to her feet. “Not yet,” Alex grins back, pulling her hand out of Tobin’s, “but I’m getting there.”  

Tobin looks down at her empty hand as Heif comes over.

“Congratulations, Alex.  Woman of the match, again.  You also got the Golden Boot and Golden Ball.”

“Wait, what?  Seriously?”

“Yeah.  You and Hope are getting your awards as soon as we set up the stage and before the teams gets their medals and the cup.”

Alex nods as Heif goes to talk to Hope.  “See,” Tobin says from behind her.  Alex turns to face Tobin, “I told you, you were back.  Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiles.  She feels a hand on her back and turns around as she sees a few German players headed toward them.  Alex shakes hands or hugs them.  When she turns back around Tobin is walking towards the bench with Christen.

As both teams mingle, waiting for the ceremonies to start Alex notices Tobin talking and smiling with a German player.  Alex finds Julie and starts talking to her while she waits, glancing over at Tobin.

The ceremony soon starts and Hope jogs up the stairs to get the Golden Glove.  Once Hope steps down Alex is ushered onto the stage to receive the Golden Boot. After shaking hands Alex smiles wide as pictures are taken.  She then walks back to get the Golden Ball.  Alex smiles even bigger as she poses with both trophies first by herself then with Hope.

After Germany gets there medals, the team starts to make their way onto the stage.  Tobin sits on the edge with her feet hanging off.  Alex looks down at her, watching her, as Tobin looks at the medal around her neck, bouncing her head.  

She finally sees Tobin’s smile as the team starts swaying back and forth.  Their eyes lock for a moment as Tobin looks back at her but is quickly broken as they sway past each other again.

~~~

After showering, changing, and dinner, the older members of the team decide to head out and celebrate their win.

They end up at a club down the street from their hotel.  There is good music and drinks.  They are all enjoying themselves to some level.  A few are nursing a beer or a light drink while others are a little looser.  Tobin, Ashlyn, and Whitney sit at a table overlooking the dance floor.  They watch Kelley, Alex and Ali dance.

“Wow.  The dancing on this team…just wow,” Becky says with a laugh as she slides into the empty seat next to Tobin.

“Well it’s easier to see how bad they are now that Abby’s not showing us how bad it could possibly be,” Whitney adds.

Tobin laughs and stands up.  “I’m going to head to the bathroom then you guys want to head back.”  The three nod and Tobin walks away.

Tobin smiles to herself as she washes her hands.  Things have been going well with Alex since they had arrived back in Florida for the Germany game.  They had played a few games of Monopoly Deal the day before and it felt like old times.  Tobin also got her into the new games the team has started playing.  It hasn’t been easy but Tobin thinks she might be back on the road to recovery of at least their friendship.

Tobin walks out of the bathroom to see Ali and Becky standing right outside the door.  “Ready to head out Tobs?” Ali asks, leading her to the front door where Ashlyn is waiting.

“You’re done dancing?” Tobin chuckles, stumbling slightly as she is pushed towards the door.  “Wait, I want to tell Kelley we’re leaving.”

“We already told her,” Ali responds, looping her arm through Tobin’s.

“What’s the rush?” Tobin turns towards the dance floor but is yanked forward again in the direction of the door.  “What’s going on?” Tobin slips out of their grasp and turns back towards the inner part of the bar.  She scans the room for Kelley to ask what’s going on.  She spots her dancing with Meghan through the crowd.  She smiles as she walks towards them.

“Tobs comes on.  Let’s go.  I’m tired.” Ashlyn pleads from behind them.

“Just a minute.” Tobin is a few feet away from Kelley when she notices a couple dancing behind the short defender.  She stops suddenly. She sees a tall, good looking man dancing with a woman who has her back to Tobin.  Even though it’s dark and her back is to her Tobin would know that body anywhere, from every angle, in anything, but especially in that dress.  The dress that was bought to celebrate their 2 year anniversary.  ‘ _Alex._ ’  The man has his hands low on her hips and there is very little space between the skin tight dress and the dark jeans and dress shirt.

Ashlyn comes up behind the midfielder, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the bar just as one of the man’s hands moves to Alex’s jaw.  Tobin stumbles under Ashlyn’s grip but doesn’t look away from Alex as they seem to get even closer until she is pulled out the door.  Tobin turns to Ashlyn once the door closes, speechless.

Ashlyn puts her hands on Tobin’s shoulders, “Tobin, talk to me.”

“She…she…with a… can’t …I’m... Ash?” Tobin stutters, pointing back at the closed door.

Kelley bursts through the door crashing into them. “Tobin,” she huffs out of breath. “There you are.  Let’s go back to the room buddy.  I’m tired.”

Tobin finally loses her ability to hold in her tears.  She holds onto Kelley, clinging on for dear life as tears destroy the thin layer of eyeliner she had put on.

“Tobs, I know it sucks,” Kelley tries to comfort.  She doesn’t know how to comfort the midfielder without possibly supplying false hope.

“This is my own fault.  It’s my punishment.”

“What?” Ashlyn asks, astounded.

“We had a plan.  Get Abby a goal,” Tobin states, finally letting these feelings out.

“Tobin what are you talking about?” Kelley questions, wiping the tears from her eyes.  Kelley and Ashlyn start to lead Tobin back towards the hotel, each with an arm around her back.  They follow behind Ali and Becky who try to make a shield to keep any fans from seeing them.

Tobin keeps rambling through her tears.  “I was supposed to send the ball to Abby.  I was supposed to set _her_ up for a goal,” Tobin reiterates.

“Tobin-,” Kelley starts.

“No,” she forces with a stomp of her foot, halting their forward progression.  “I kicked the ball that sent her diving.  I kicked the ball that made her hit the post.  I kicked the ball that made her forget me.” Tobin collapses, sobbing even harder, Ashlyn’s arms being the only thing that keeps her from hitting the sidewalk.  “This is all my own _fucking_ fault,” Tobin spits.  “She doesn’t remember me because I didn’t give Abby the damn ball.”

“Tobin,” Becky soothes, bending down in front of her.  Tobin looks up at her with glistening eyes of hope, tears still streaking down her face. “A lot of things went wrong that day.  It wasn’t just one thing.  This was _not_ your fault.”

“This never would have happened if I hadn’t been the one taking the corner.”

The four others don’t know what to say.  They just pick Tobin back up and lead her silently to the hotel, the only noise coming from Tobin as she continues to shed tears into Ashlyn’s chest.

They get her into bed in the room she shares with Kelley.  As the rest start to leave, Tobin makes one last tear filled statement.  “She actually moved on.  I thought I was going to be able to win her back.  This didn’t happen the first time.  She didn’t meet people between Serv and me.  It’s over.”  Tobin looks up at them with blank eyes before choking on her words, “She’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp don't kill me. if you do how will you know how it gets better?


	12. The Day After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my fiance was sorta begging for an update which is the only reason I am posting this so quick.  
> There is kind of a flashback in this chapter (it's not going to appease any of your wants so don't get your hopes set too high) but the flashback is indicated by the italics.

Alex walks out of the elevator, unable to keep the smile off of her face from all the events of last night.  She strides into the breakfast room, heading straight to the table of food and making herself a plate.  She sits down next to Kelley across from Julie and Ali.  

Alex raises her eyebrow as the three stop talking and turn to look at Alex.

“What?” she asks as she takes a bite of her bagel, her eyebrow shooting up. She turns to look directly at Kelley, Julie gasping.

“What?” Alex asks again after swallowing her bite and turning back to Julie.

“You have a…,” Julie motions to the side of her own neck, “a hickey.”

“WHA-,” Kelley squawks, grabbing Alex’s chin and turning her head to get a better look at her neck, finding a reddish, purple bruise right under Alex’s ear. “Damn, Alex. Are there more?”  Kelley eagerly starts pulling at the hood around Alex’s neck with her other hand.

“What?” Alex repeats a third time, pulling her head out of Kelley’s grasp, slapping at Kelley’s other hand and pulling the hood of her sweatshirt up around her neck.

“What happened last night?” Julie questions the older three but her gaze not leaving Alex’s neck.

“I met a guy,” Alex responds while Ali and Kelley share a look.  

“Did you go home with him, Alex?” Ali questions.  

Alex shakes her head, “No.  We went to his car for a little while but our clothes stayed on.  We just made out and I got his number.”

“Alex,” Kelley starts. “You-”

“No.  I’m allowed to get drunk.  I’m allowed to meet guys.  I’m allowed to hook up with whoever I want.”  Alex’s voice rising as she continues.

The three defenders look around the room anxiously.  After seeing many faces staring at them but luckily not Tobin’s they all let out a breath.

“Yeah, Alex, you are,” Kelley responds, “just maybe not so publically.”

“Why?  I’m single aren’t I?  Cause of Tobin?  It’s not like I was flaunting it in her face.  She left before he ki-”

“No,” Kelley cuts in, “she didn’t. She saw you with him.  She’s broken, Alex, because she saw you kiss someone else.”

“Well, I’m sorry about that.  I seriously thought she had left but I can’t live my life just to make her happy,”

“Alex,” Ali tries.

“No,” Alex demands, clenching her fist. “This whole thing sucks.  I know that, but that’s not fair to me for me to have to live my life around Tobin.”

Kelley places her hand on Alex’s arm. “Not now,” she says, looking away from Alex.  Alex follows Kelley’s gaze, which is facing the recently opened  door.  The door is just shutting and Alex sees who she knows is Tobin walking towards the long table.  Tobin sits down, pulls her hood even farther over her head and rests her chin on top of her hands.  Alex then watches Christen sit down across from her, carefully placing a cup of coffee in front of her.

Alex watches Tobin lift her head slightly, looking at the coffee, before letting it drop back onto her hands.  “Come on Al.  Finish your breakfast then let’s go get ready for the recovery.”

Alex stands up, plucking her bagel off her plate and heading towards the door.  Kelley follows after her, giving a look to her college teammate as she passes.

~~~

Alex rides the elevator down to the 1st floor with Lindsey, talking about the little things that each of them know about Portland so far.  They both greet Dawn as they walk into the pool area and moves towards the seats around the side.  They sit down to start getting ready.

Alex bends down to untie her sneakers while Lindsey pulls off her shirt and kicks off her flip flops.  She places her shoes under the chair and Lindsey jumps into the pool, splashing Alex slightly.  She then stands up and pulls her shirt off as well, leaving her in only her sports bra and athletic shorts.  

“Alex,” Crystal calls from the water.

She looks over at Crystal as she slides into the pool.  The shorter forward swims over quickly while Alex gets in.  “You have some,” Crystal motions to Alex’s chest, “bruises all over.”

Alex looks down, craning her head to look at her chest, only being able to see half of one under the strap of her sports bra.  The door closes and they both look up.  Tobin shuffles in behind Kelley, head bowed, her feet barely lifting off the floor.  She pulls off her sweatshirt as she walks over and after slipping off her sweatpants Alex sees her face for the first time.  

Tobin’s eyes are red with large bags under them.  Tobin slides into the pool and lets her legs float to the surface so she is laying on her back.  Kelley jumps in next to Tobin and looks over to Alex.   The smile on her face dissolves as she spots Alex’s exposed neck and chest.  Her jaw tightens as she drags Tobin by her floating arm to the front of the pool, far from Alex.  Crystal gives Alex a knowing look before moving over to Julie.

The whole team seems to place themselves between Alex and Tobin, keeping them separated during recovery.  Tobin seems to barely notices she is in the pool so she makes no comment to the fifteen or so teammates that have moved to form a wall around both Alex and Tobin or to the look Dawn gives them until she notices the marks along Alex’s neck.

After the recovery session, everyone heads up to their rooms to finish packing before their flights.  Alex waits in the lobby for Tobin and Lindsey so they can fly back to Portland together.  She hugs Christen, Julie, and Alyssa as they head off for their flight to Chicago.

Alex groans when she sees Lindsey stepping of the elevator with only Morgan.  They both smile as they walk over.  

“Hey Alex,” Morgan yawns, flopping into the open space on the couch next to Alex.  “When’s your flight?”

Alex looks at her phone, “I think we should leave soon but as usual Tobin isn’t ready yet?”

The two younger girls share a glance.  “We still have time Alex,” Lindsey tries.

“Yeah, she was almost done from what I could tell,” Morgan adds, cautiously eyeing the visible bruise beneath Alex’s ear.

The elevator dings and the three look up to see Tobin and Kelley step off, Kelley dragging one of Tobin’s bags for her.  Tobin still has her hood drawn up over her head and only one arm through the sleeve of her sweatshirt.  Alex can tell Tobin’s other arm is tucked into her chest as the loose sleeve freely sways.

They walk over and the three stand to meet them.  “Ready?” Tobin asks, her voice rough from crying.  She stands in front of the three, looking down at her feet, rolling back and forth from her toes to her heals.

“Yeah,” Lindsay responds, “we’re just waiting for Carli.”

“She left with Hope this morning right after recovery.  She said she would meet me at the gate,” Morgan corrects as she moves towards Kelley arms open wide.

Kelley wraps Morgan in a hug, looking over her shoulder at Alex who’s eyes are locked on Tobin.  They say their goodbyes then Kelley moves to Lindsey, doing the same.

Morgan and Lindsey glance between their three older teammates and let them know they will meet them at the car, quickly grabbing their bags and rolling them towards the door.  Kelley then turns to her two best friends.  She moves towards Alex first, “Take care of yourself,” she says at a normal volume before whispering into the taller girl’s ear as they embrace, “and go easy on her.”

“I’ll try,” Alex responds as they pull away, glancing at Tobin who is still looking down at her feet.  She grabs her bags and follows the path Morgan and Lindsey took out of the building to the waiting car.

Kelley turns towards Tobin, her face falling as she takes the two steps between them and wrapping her tightly in a bone crushing hug, Tobin’s arm caught between them.

“Call me if you need anything okay,” Kelley soothes.  Tobin nods.  “I’ll see you at the end of the month for camp.”  Tobin nods again.  “Don’t worry.  Things are going to be okay.”

“Kel,” Tobin finally rasps, “I saw the… ya know.  She’s done trying to get back any memories.  She’s moving on with her life.”

Kelley nods into Tobin’s shoulder, squeezing her tight one last time before she finally lets go.  Tobin gives her one last sad look before she awkwardly feeds her arm through the empty sleeve, grabs both of her bags and staggers out the door.

~~~

Tobin follows Alex up the steps to their house, letting Alex unlock the door and following her in.  Alex watches Tobin walk around her and down the hall.  She hears her bedroom door click closed.  Alex brings her bags to her room before leaning close to Tobin’s door to listen for any sound.  She thinks she can hear heavy breathing but can’t fully tell.  

Alex knocks lightly.  “I’m going to go head out for a bit.  I’ll be back before dinner.  Do you want me to pick up anything?”

“No,” Alex hears, the raspy voice behind the door replies.

“Okay,” Alex calls back.  She slowly heads towards the front door, grabbing the keys to her car before driving to Allie’s house.

Allie lets Alex in the door with open arms.  She lets Alex tell her about the guy she met, having already been updated by Kelley on what happened.  Once Alex finishes, they sit there silently, the only sound being a clock ticking somewhere in the apartment.

“So do you like this guy?” Allie asks to break the silence.

Alex shakes her head, “No. He was nice but he’s in Florida. He was nothing more than a bar hook up.  I do think I’m ready to move on though.  Meet someone maybe.”

Allie stares into Alex’s eyes, “What are you looking for Alex?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you just want a hook up or are you looking for a relationship?”

Alex sighs, running her hand through her hair.  “I just feel lonely and I felt almost not lonely when I was with him.  I don’t know how to explain it.  I just… miss,” Alex waves her hands arounds, “something.  I don’t know.”

“Did you ever think that maybe,” Allie rubs her hands together, picking her words carefully, “maybe, you miss Tobin.  You might not remember it, but maybe your subconscious does.”

Alex groans, her head falling back into the couch cushions, “Why can’t people just get over the fact that I don’t want to be with her.  I probably feel lonely because the person I remember dating for the past five years is no longer a part of my life and hasn’t been for a long time apparently.”

“Alex,” Allie starts, “I’m not saying you have to be with her.  You’re right, it could be Serv too.  I’m just saying that _maybe_ that’s what the feeling is.  I’m just as much your friend as I am hers even if you don’t remember our friendship.” Allie’s smile grow, “Do you want to go out tonight? Bati’s got to work so I’m free.  I can call a few of the girls, we can make it a thing.”

Alex smiles, “Not  tonight.  I’m still tired from all the traveling.  I just want to go sit in front of the tv with some sesame chicken.”

~~~

Alex returns home to a dark, quiet house.  She looks back at the driveway and sees Tobin’s car.  She carries the paper bag into the kitchen, grabbing two plates and walking back into the living room.  She places everything down on the coffee table and moves down the hall.  She stops in front of Tobin’s door.  She spies light coming out from underneath her door, her hand moving up to knock, but something stops her, possibly the eerie silence on the other side.  

Alex turns around, heading back to the living room.  She grabs one plate and after digging through the bag, one white take out box.  She puts the food in the fridge, returns the plate to its spot in the cabinet and sits to the couch. She opens her own food and begins eating slowly, illuminated by the glow from the tv.

~~~

_Alex takes Tobin's hand across the small table.  Tobin's bright smile growing bigger._

_“This is beautiful Tobin,” Alex gleams, looking around at the small beach front restaurant._

_Tobin smirks, “It was the only place I could find that would let me not where shoes.” Tobin states, staring deeply into Alex's eyes.  “That and it allows me to watch the sunset on the beach with you.”_

_Alex's smile somehow grows bigger.  She glances down at the recently paid check before slipping her hand out of Tobin's and bending down to pull her sandals off.  She stands holding her shoes in one hand, the other extended out to Tobin.  Tobin quickly bends down to pick her shoes up from next to her chair and interlocks her fingers with Alex's._

_They weave around the few tables separating them from the open beach. Tobin leads her down to a few feet above the surf, then along the water towards a large section of rocks as the sun continues getting lower in the sky._

_Tobin stops suddenly, looking out at the ocean.  Alex steps closer, her arm sliding around Tobin's back.  They watch the small waves hit against the sand, the low clinking of plates from the restaurant the only noise interrupting the sound of each break  on the secluded beach._

_Alex interrupts the silence, “I’m sorry you didn’t get to surf while we were here.”_

_Tobin shrugs, turning away from the ocean and staring up into Alex’s eyes. “It’s fine, we can come back some other time.  Just the two of us.  Maybe I can get you to surf with me”_

_Alex’s face softens. “Not in your lifetime,” she breathes as she reaches her hand up, cupping Tobin’s cheeks and leaning down to push their lips against each other.  Both of them dropping their shoes as they move closer. Tobin slides her hand around Alex’s waist, resting it on the small of her back and pulling Alex closer._

_Alex’s tongue slides out of her mouth, running over Tobin’s lower lip.  Tobin whimpers slightly before pulling away, her eyes still closed as she lets her head fall to onto Alex’s shoulder, pressing her forehead into Alex’s neck._

_“I love you,” she whispers against Alex’s warm skin._

_“I love you too,” Alex whispers back, wrapping her arms tightly around Tobin’s tanned frame.  Tobin shivers in the hot Hawaiian sun and pulls back, causing Alex to raise her eyebrow in confusion._

_Tobin stuffs her hands into the pockets of her jean shorts, rocking back and forth on her heels.  “Tobin?”_

_Tobin looks up from Alex’s bare feet. “I love you, Alex.”_

_Alex chuckles, “I love you too, Tobin,” she repeats._

_Tobin looks out at the ocean, taking a deep breath before pulling her hands out of her pockets and using her left hand to grab Alex’s, her right dangling by her side._

_“Alex, you are the most important person in my life.  When you kissed me that night so long ago I was so shocked and so mad at you.  But then you kissed me again and it just felt so right.  You were my best friend for so long but then you became so much more.  Every day I spent with you, every moment I spend with you is amazing.”  Tobin uses the thumb of her free hand to rub Alex’s cheek, taking another deep breath._

_Alex smiles, her breaths short and quick as Tobin starts to bend down onto one knee.  “Tobin,” she whispers, gripping the hand that holds hers tightly._

_“I love you, Alex.  I love you so much.  I can’t imagine my life without you.  I don’t want to imagine my life without you.  You are more important to me than anything and I will do anything to make you happy.  Alex, I want to spend the rest of my life  with you.” Tobin looks up into Alex’s watering eyes, then down at her closed fist as she brings it up to her heart before holding it out to Alex, her fingers spreading open.  "Will you marry me?”_

_Alex looks down at Tobin’s open hand, a ring sitting in the center of her palm, reflecting brightly in the setting sun.  Tears flow freely from Alex’s eyes as they stay trained on the ring, both hands gripping Tobin’s empty one tightly._

_Tobin watches Alex, her heart beating faster the longer Alex doesn’t answer.  “Alex?” she stutters._

_Alex looks up from Tobin’s hand, her eyes finding Tobin’s.  “Wha…?”_

_Tobin wetly chuckles, repeating “Will you marry me?”_

_Alex nods, pulling Tobin up to her feet.  Tobin stumbles as she forcefully pulls Tobin into her, her wet cheeks coating Tobin’s as Alex presses her lips hard against Tobin’s._

_After a long, passionate kiss, Tobin pulls back, pushing against the hand Alex has tangled in her hair.  “So that's a yes?” Tobin softly pants, still trying to get her breath back after the long kiss._

_Alex nods, pulling Tobin back for a quick kiss.  “It will always be yes, Tobin.  Nothing can change that.”_

_Alex leans in again while Tobin asks, “Does this mean you don't want the ring.”  Alex pulls back.  “Cause if you don’t I'm sure I can get a refund if I do it soon,” Tobin smirks._

_“Don't you dare,” Alex grins, pulling Tobin in for another quick kiss.  She pulls back and looks down at Tobin's hand.  She let's out a shaky breath as she holds out her left hand.  “Can you put it on me?”_

_Tobin let's out a relieved breath as she slides the ring onto Alex's finger and looks up with a blinding smile._

_Alex grabs the collar of Tobin’s white t-shirt and pulls her in again.  Before their lips meet they hear screams coming from around them and she leans back as Tobin groans._

_Alex turns to see most of the team walking towards them.  She tries to wipe the tears from her eyes as she wraps her right hand around Tobin’s waist pulling her closer.  Once their sides are pressed tightly together she places her hand on the center of Tobin’s chest, displaying the ring as their teammates surround them._

_Kelley makes it to them first, tears falling from her eyes as she wraps them both in a bone crushing hug._

Tobin wakes up to a tear soaked pillow wrapped tightly in her arms.  She tries to sit up but just starts crying again, flopping back onto the bed.  She reaches over to turn the light off before trying to cry herself back to sleep so that maybe she can not hurt for just a few more seconds.  

~~~

Alex barely sees Tobin the next day.  When she wakes up Tobin’s longboard is gone from it’s place near the laundry room door.  Tobin finally returns late in the afternoon with a soccer ball under her arm.  She drops her backpack, board and ball near the door before walking through the living room towards the kitchen.  She gives Alex a head nod with a forced smile as she walks by the forward who is sitting on the couch.  

A minute later Tobin is standing in the doorway again, looking at Alex. “Is this for me?” her voice harder than normal.

Alex looks up from her computer and sees Tobin holding up the white box of Chinese food she had picked up the previous night.  Alex nods and Tobin turns back around.  Alex can hear Tobin making herself a plate and putting it in the microwave.

A few minutes after the microwave is turned off Alex sets her computer down and heads into the kitchen.  She stops just before she gets to the doorway and sees Tobin mindlessly forking at her food while her focus is on the necklace attached to her neck.  Alex tries to make a little more noise as she walks to the sink.  She catches Tobin slipping the rings back under her shirt out of the corner of her eye.

~~~

The next day around noon Alex hears a knock on the door as she sits on the couch, waiting for some sign of life to come from Tobin’s room.  Alex gets up and heads to the door, opening it to find Allie on the other side.

Allie smiles as she steps into the house, “Hey Alex.”

“Hi Allie,” Alex replies confused as Allie walks by her and down the hall.  Alex closes the front door and heads into the kitchen.  She can hear Allie talking in the hallway then the sound of the door opening and closing.

Alex finishes cleaning the dishes from her lunch, moving to sit back on the couch.  She picks up a magazine from the table, flipping through it until she hears Tobin’s door open again, then two sets of footsteps coming down the hall.

Alex looks up to find Allie leading Tobin to the door.  Allie gives Alex a small smile as they walk out the door, it closing quietly behind them.

~~~

When Tobin comes homes later that night she appears to be in a much better mood.  She flops down next to Alex who is watching her episode of the Bachelor.

Tobin can’t help but laugh a little while later when Alex and Kelley come on screen trying to look fierce. Alex looks over at her with raised eyebrows.  “What?”

“Nothing,” Tobin snickers.  “You just took this game super serious even though Kel’s keeper was on fire.”

Alex shakes her head as the two teams prepare to start.  “How long did she take to come up with that cheer?” Alex asks.

“‘Bout a week,” Tobin nonchalantly replies, sneakily reaching over and grabbing some of Alex’s popcorn and stuffing it into her mouth.

Alex moves the bowl from her lap and places it in between them.  “Are we okay?”

Tobin doesn’t react to Alex’s questions, her eyes still focused on the screen.  Alex is about to ask again when Tobin finally speaks. “It just hurt a lot to see you with someone else.  I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you.  I wasn’t expecting it and needed some time.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Alex says, the show forgotten.

“So, um,” Tobin starts, her eyes still directed towards the tv, “if something like that happens again could you warn me or something.  Like if you’re going to bring someone here just text me and I’ll go chill with Allie or something.”

The sadness in Tobin’s voice hurts Alex.  “Tobin, I woul-”

“Alex this is your house too.  You can bring whoever you want here.  I’m just not ready to see it.” ‘ _Probably never will._ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's definitely going to be a few days before I can get the next one up. Are there any moments, either with the Thorns or national team that y'all would like to see be incorporated?


	13. Bend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I don't want to give away much but this is a Talex story and I don't plan on changing that.

Alex pulls into the Thorns parking lot, parking among the cars of their teammates.  Tobin waves out the passenger window as she takes off her seatbelt.  They both climb out and head to the back of the car.  Tobin pulls her own bag out, putting it down as she grabs Alex’s.  She hands it to Alex and reaches up to close the trunk.

“Thanks,” Alex says as Allie bounces over.

“Come on Harry.  You’re riding with Lindsey and me,” Allie says as she pulls Tobin towards one of the vans.

Tobin looks over her shoulder at Alex, her face offering a smile, “You comin’?”

Alex nods and follows after them.  They all squish their bags into the back and they move to get in, Alex, Lindsey, and Allie pile into the back row while Tobin sits in front of Allie, next to Emily Menges.

Alex leans back and smiles as Allie and Lindsey bicker, Tobin and Emily quietly conversing in front of them while digging into Emily’s box of Cheez-It.  Alex falls asleep watching Tobin unconsciously fiddle with the rings through her shirt.

Alex wakes up an hour later to Lindsey leaning against her, looking out the window, “I swear I saw something.”

“You did not see Bigfoot,” Allie groans as Lindsey sits back down in her seat.

“Sasquatch,” Lindsey corrects.  She then hands her phone to Tobin, “We need to get a picture of him for instagram.”

Tobin takes a picture of Allie and turns the phone around, “Is this good?”

Lindsey and Alex start laughing and Allie reaches for the phone but Tobin pulls it out of reach.  Tobin turns the phone back around starting a video, first on Allie who just gives Tobin a look, resting her head on her hand.

Lindsey continues cracking up as Tobin moves the camera from Allie to Lindsey.  Lindsey waves her hand in front of her face, covering her mouth, laughing out, “I can’t do this. I can’t”

Tobin giggles as she then turns the camera to Alex.  Alex gives a dorky smile and a big thumbs up, “Bend.”

Tobin then turns the camera back first to Lindsey who doubles over laughing then to Allie who holds her hand up, shaking her head to get Tobin to stop.

Tobin stops the video, handing the phone back to Lindsey who immediately posts it on instagram before Allie can stop her.  

Alex watches Tobin lean over the seat in front of her talking to Dagny who is sitting in the front row.

Christine turns around from her seat next to Emily, smiling at Alex.  “Welcome back to the real world kid.”

Alex yawns, “I was enjoying my nap.”

Christine puts her arm up on the back of the seat, resting her chin on her forearm.  “So how are you doing?  You ready to go camping?”

“Ha.  I’m ready for a hike then a nice hot shower.  Real camping.”

~~~

They get to Bend and head for the hotel, taking a few hours to settle in after the long drive.  Alex and Allie talk about Allie’s upcoming wedding.  

“So you were gonna be a bridesmaid…” Allie starts, “and I know you don’t really know me anymore, but I still want you to be there with me.”

Alex sits on her bed shocked, “Are you sure?  I mean I’d love to because so far I’ve really liked talking to you and we were friends before.  Just are you sure?”

“Of course.  I can’t wait to make you wear a super ugly dress while I’ll look fucking hot,” Allie tries to say with a straight face but once Alex starts laughing Allie can’t hold it in and they spend the next few minutes uncontrollably laughing about nothing.

~~~

When it’s time they make their way down to the hotel conference room for dinner.  Alex sits at a table with a bunch of the newbies that she hasn’t gotten to bond with yet.

After dinner they break up into groups, discussing team values and key concepts.  Alex listens to the people that have been on the team for years and the players that were just drafted out of college this year.  She adds in her own thoughts on how the team can focus on doing well but mostly lets the older players talk.

After the seriousness, they move on to a game of charades, breaking up into groups again.  Alex ends up on the vikings but watches as Tobin and Allie’s team kill it.  Their close bond very obvious.  

~~~

Allie groans from her bed as Alex’s alarm goes off.  “Five more minutes, mom,” Allie jokes as she rolls over, pulling a pillow over her head.

Alex tosses a pillow in her direction that hits Allie in the chest.  They quickly get dressed for their hike and trudge all the way to the conference room.

“Coffee,” Allie groans as they walk through the open door.  Tobin chuckles as she stands up, handing them each a steaming cup.  

“Let’s go sleepy heads.  We got a mountain to climb.”  She gives a small smiles to Alex as she sits back down and Alex and Allie head to get food from the buffet.

Once everyone is done eating, they pile into the vans and head off for their hike.  Alex is in the second van which gets a little lost.

When they finally arrive Alex sees Adrianna, who had been in the first van, climbing on a playground style rock wall. Tobin pushes her way out of the van and jogs over to it, scaling the wall in five seconds.  She stands with her arms spread out wide, a huge grin on her face.  She then sits down, bringing her knees up to her chest.  Adrianna sits down next to her.

Alex stands on the side with a few other players as she zips up her coat.  Mark comes over to the group, groaning.  “I thought you said this was going to be leisurely.”

“Oh, come on Markey.  You can’t handle a little climb?” Michelle says as they start walking the trail.

“It’s called Misery Ridge Trail,” he complains when they pass the trail head sign.

“A team that is miserable together, wins together,” Kat jokes.

When they reach the top there is room for them to explore along the ridge.  The team slowly makes it’s way to a flattened area to take a picture before sitting down and resting.

Alex is sitting with Dagny, looking out at the view below when Tobin comes up behind them.  “Hey Alex?”

They both turn around, looking up at Tobin. “Yeah?”

“Do you think we could take a picture on the rocks over there,” she says while pointing to a rock jutting out into the open air.

Alex follows Tobin’s finger before looking back at her hopeful expression, nodding, “Yeah.”

Tobin lets out a breath, her smile growing, “Cool.  Can you take it Dagny?”

Dagny nods and takes the phone Tobin is holding out for her.  Tobin and Alex walk slowly over to the rocks. Tobin stands near the edge and turns to Dagny, Alex comes close sliding her arm around Tobin’s waist.

Tobin’s breath catches in her throat, her arm sliding up and almost hovering over Alex’s side, too scared to fully touch her. Tobin forces herself to stare straight ahead, taking long, slow breaths.

Allie watches from the side as Tobin’s body stands as stiff as a board when Alex puts her arm around her.  She watches Tobin exert a great effort into not turning her head like Allie has seen her do so often to kiss Alex.  

Alex smiles, her head tilting slightly towards Tobin.  Allie gives them a strange look as they finish their picture and head back onto solid mountain.  Tobin pulls her hat down further over her ears as she walks back to Dagny to retrieve her phone.

~~~

Allie holds Tobin back as the team starts the hike back down.  “So what was that with the picture?”

Tobin looks down at the black screen of her phone in her hand.  “I don’t have any pictures of us since it happened.  Well there’s a few but those are from the hospital and I just am used to taking pictures with her all the time.  Even when we were friends before we were an us we took pictures.  Maybe if we start back at the beginning she’ll start ...I don’t know feeling things for me again.”

Allie looks over Tobin.  “Tobin,” Allie hesitates not knowing how to continue.  She finally settles on a simple statement of, “Just be careful.  I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Tobin takes a deep breath as they hop down a small jump in the trail.  “I’m already hurt.  I hurt every time she opens her mouth and says something so adorable that I just want to kiss her.  Everytime something happens that reminds me of something we’ve done together or something that we’ve talked about.  It’s just, everything hurts, but sometimes like when she just acts like were friends I forget for just one moment that she’s not mine anymore.  I forget that I don’t get to marry her, that I don’t get to climb into bed next to her after a long day, that I can’t sleep in her arms, or even just take her hand when we are walking down the fucking street.”

Allie stops Tobin from walking as her voice rises and tears start to flow but she continues.  “I just want to forget, not for a moment but forever.  I want her back.  I want _my_ Alex back and I just want to stop crying.” Tobin grips Allie around the waist, burying her face into the crook between Allie’s neck and shoulder.

Allie rests her chin on top of Tobin’’s head.  She sees Michelle and Emily walking back up the path towards them, concern on both of their faces.  Allie waves her hand at them as she puts her arms around Tobin’s back.  The two stop for a moment before nodding and turning back around.

Tobin takes a few minutes to steady her breathing and then pulls away, wiping her face on her jacket sleeve. “Okay, I’m good.  Let’s go.  I’m hungry.”

Allie chuckles, looping her arm through Tobin’s and leading them back down the trail.  

~~~

Tobin glides around the ice rink, skating around her stumbling teammates.  “Come on Kat,” she says, skating circles around her. “Glide.”  The blonde flips her off in response.

Tobin chuckles as she takes off towards where Allie and Alex are slowly moving against the wall. She rests her hand on the wall behind Alex who is stutter stepping her way around the rink.  “You do realize the point of ice skating is _skating_ right? Which means moving.  Which means letting go of the wall.”

“Tobin,” Alex grumbles, not enjoying her inability to do something.  “Don’t you think if I could get off the wall I would?”

Tobin stops for a minute, thinking.  Alex gets about one foot away until Tobin skates around her and Allie stopping in front of them.  “Can I teach you?”

Alex stares at her for a second, thinking it over.  “How?”

“The same way I taught you three years ago,” Tobin responds with a smile.  Allie smirks at Tobin and skates off towards some of their more competent teammates.

“Don’t let me fall,” Alex warns as she hesitantly takes one hand off the wall.

“Never,” Tobin says, reaching out for Alex’s hands, having to use a little effort to get her to remove her other hand from the wall.  Once Tobin has both of Alex’s hands she pulls the forward away from the wall.  “Just keep your body straight for now.”  Tobin skates backwards, pulling Alex with her.  Alex smiles, looking down at her feet.

Tobin slowly glides to a stop after they do a lap.  She smiles as she tries to release one hand from Alex’s death grip to no avail.  ‘ _Just like last time._ ’

“Alex,” she soothes. “I need you to let go of my hand.  Just one. I promise I won’t let go of the other.”

Alex stares into Tobin’s kind eyes, gauging how much she trusts this lesson.  After a few moments she loosens her grip and Tobin moves next to her, switching hands and putting her now free hand on Alex’s back.

“Okay now to propel yourself forward you’re going to push off of one foot while keeping the other foot pointed in the direction you want to go.  It’s just like kicking a ball.  The planted food is the direction you want the ball to go.” Tobin slowly starts skating, pulling Alex with her.  “Okay now you need to bend your knees a little so you have more balance.”

Alex bends her knees slightly but makes no move to start propelling herself.

“You got this, Alex.  I’m right here.  I won’t let you fall,” Tobin encourages.

Alex turns her head to face Tobin, smiling.  She shakily picks one foot up and places it sideways, pushing off.

“That’s great.  Do another,” Tobin cheers, her eyes glued to Alex’s skates.

Alex leads Tobin around the rink for a few laps.  She then looks up at Tobin but before she can ask Tobin drops her hand from Alex’s back.  “You got this.  I’ll be right beside you but you won’t need me.  You got this.”

Alex takes a breath and releases Tobin’s hand from her own and takes off.  It’s slow and a little shaky at times but she makes it around the rink without falling.  Tobin holds out her hand which Alex only lightly taps for fear of falling over.  “That was even quicker than last time,” Tobin comments.

Alex shrugs, “What can I say?  I’m a natural.  Should have done hockey instead.”

Tobin laughs, “Well you can go join the league if you want but I don’t know if you could handle helmets.  Your pink pre-wrap wouldn’t be visible.”

Alex scoffs and pushes at Tobin’s shoulder which causes her to lose balance.  She starts to flail and Tobin instinctively reaches out to help only to get pulled down next to her.

Tobin groans as she pushes up off the ice onto her knees.  She looks over at Alex who is laying down on her back, blinking up towards the ceiling.

“Fuck.  Alex.  Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” Tobin asks, quickly pushing her way over to Alex’s face.  A few teammates gather around as Alex sits up.

“I’m fine,” Alex answers.  “I think my butt is going to be bruised and I got ice _up_ my shirt somehow but I’m fine.”  She reaches her hands out towards Emily who is directly in front of her.  Tobin gets to her feet as Alex is unsteadily pulled up.

Alex skates away with a few teammates as Kat stumbles by Tobin, reaching her arms out.  Tobin steadies her.  “Want me to teach you too?”

“Only if you promise not to take me down like you did with Alex,” she smirks.

“I...She...fuck you,” Tobin laughs as she grabs Kat’s hands and pulls her around the rink.

~~~

The next morning, the two very full vans make their way back Portland.  Alex sits in the front row talking with the two keepers for most of the ride.

When they arrive back at Providence Park, Alex sits in her trunk waiting for Tobin to finish talking with Mark.  After a few minutes the midfielder walks over, lightly tosses her duffle into the car next to Alex and they both head for their seats.

“Did you have fun?” Tobin asks after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah.  I think that was a good trip.  I feel a lot closer to them then I have just through practices.”

Tobin nods in agreement, “Hopefully we can just get it all together for the games next week.”

Alex smiles and they sit in silence until Alex pulls her car up next to Tobin’s in the driveway.  They both slowly climb out, grabbing their bags, and heading into the house.

“Want me to make dinner?” Tobin asks as she sets her bag down next to the door.

“You?  Cook?” Alex asks incredulously.  

“I do cook ya know,” Tobin replies, a soft smile spreading across her face.  “It was actually one of the things you liked about me.” Alex’s head falls to the side.  “You still do most of the cooking but every once in awhile I cook for you and ya...you really like it.  It kinda became our Portland thing that I would cook before a game or before we leave if it’s an away game.”

“What do you make?” Alex asks curiously.

“Oh ya know...pasta is my specialty.  I can do chicken and I do make a mean pancake,” Alex laughs at this, “but pasta is my specialty.”

“Well, pasta sounds pretty good right now,” Alex concedes.  Tobin nods, skipping into the kitchen to start the water.

She sticks her head back out through the door frame, finding Alex still staring after her.  “You want chicken or meat balls?”

Alex thinks for a moment before responding, “Surprise me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't actually written the next chapter and I need to figure out what real parts I'm going to keep and what I'm going to change so that might be a few days.  
> Let me know what's working, what's not and if there are any things that happened in real life that you want included


	14. Sunshine to Snow

Alex flips through a stack of wedding magazines on their long flight back to Florida.  “What about something like this?” Alex asks as she holds the magazine out to Allie.

Allie chuckles, “Alex you’re supposed to be looking at flower arrangements, not a dress for you to wear.”

Tobin turns around, sticking her face in between her seat and Lindsey’s.  “Allie you know Alex can’t pass up dress shopping. Also, I already found the perfect bridesmaid dress.”

“Oh you did, did you?” Allie sarcastically asks.

“Yep.”  Tobin pulls her face away from the seats.  Alex and Allie hear Lindsey laugh as Tobin sticks her arm back through the opening with a rolled up magazine.

Allie takes the magazine and looks at the cover, noticing it is the one from the back of their chairs.

“See it is very elegant but not flashy,” Tobin says of the flight attendant that is on the cover.  “You even get a nice little scarf with it but I wouldn’t do it in that color.”

“Oh what color then?” Allie asks, fake serious, looking at over at Alex.

“Well,” Tobin says, like she has given it a lot of thought. “I was thinking we do the scarves in a nice light blue and the dresses in a tannish color.  It would look really good for a beach wedding.”

“Yeah and the guys could wear matching ties,” Allie replies as she rolls the magazine back up.

“Exactly,” Tobin agrees.  Allie smacks the top of her head with the rolled up magazine much to Lindsey’s delight who looks on from the aisle side of her seat.

“You just want a beach wedding so you can be at the beach,” Alex adds.

Tobin’s joking eyes soften, turning to Alex. “And what’s wrong with that?” she asks before turning back around to continue her card game with Lindsey.

~~~

Alex opens her door to an empty room, pulling her suitcases in behind her  She pulls out her phone and takes a picture of the bed next to the window.

**AMorgs: Totally stealing this bed cause you’re not here yet**

Alex puts her stuff down and wanders to the training room to pick up her training gear.

She grabs her pile of clothes, looking  through it, smiling at the new crest printed on everything.

She takes her gear and heads back to her room, passing Crystal and Julie in the hallway.  

“Damn.  Is that the new gear?” Crystal asks, looking through the clothes in Alex’s arms.

“Yeah, everything is in the training room.”

“Sweet,” Crystal says, bouncing by her.  Julie gives her a quick hug and then follows after Crystal.

Alex drops her stuff on the dresser then flops down on her bed, pulling out her phone to text Ashlyn.

**Alex M: Hey are you here yet or are you meeting us at the field?**

It takes a few minutes for her a response.

**Ashlyn: Just got here.  Want to hang out.  I’m waiting for the elevator. Meet me**

Alex hops up from her bed and grabs her key.  She walks out the door and turns towards the elevator.

“BOO.”

“AH,” Alex screams, her hand going up to her chest as she falls back against the door she just closed.

Alex looks up to see Ashlyn standing over her with her phone pointed at Alex.  “Hey, Alex,” she says with a smile as she points her phone at Alex.

“I hate you,” Alex breathes, swinging her arm at Ashlyn’s leg.

Ashlyn chuckles, puts her phone away and holds out her hand to help Alex up.  Alex stands and slaps at Ashlyn’s shoulder.  “You suck,” Alex groans.

Ashlyn shrugs, “But you still love me.”

~~~

“Ugh.  I came to Florida for the sun.  Where’s the Florida sun, Ash?” Whitney groans as they shake the rain off before entering the gym.

“What?  You think I control the weather?”

Whitney nods, “Yes, actually.  You have the lightning god on your arm.  I expect you to have some control over the sky.  Or at least, ya know, warn me before I put on a layer of sunscreen.”

Alex loops her arm through Ashlyn’s laughing, “Yeah, come on Ashy.  How do you not have control of this?”

Ashlyn shakes her head and walks over to the bikes, sitting down next to Meghan.  Whitney shrugs and follows behind her.  Alex walks past where Dawn has set up a ropes rotation for them and gets on the bike next to Ashlyn.

“So,” Ashlyn says, leaning forward into the circle of bikes.  “I can get tickets for the City game against Portland and I was wondering if you guys wanted to come.  See them beat the Timbers. Pride players need to be there and Ali already said she would come with us.”

“Sure,” Alex replies immediately, looking towards the other Thorns.

Allie turns to Alex while Whitney distracts Ashlyn. “Al,” Allie whispers, “you know Serv plays for Orlando right?”

“What?  Oh right.  It’s not like I’m going to see him.  I’m not going there for him,” Alex whispers, watching Tobin.  “I’m over him,” she continues at a normal level, seeing Tobin’s head jerk from her gaze on Meghan slightly, a small smirk coming across her face.  Allie looks over at Tobin, noticing the smile.

A few minutes later Ashlyn asks again as they are climbing off the bikes.  “So Whitney, Alex, and Ali are in. Meghan did you convince anyone?”

Meghan nods taking a sip of her water.  “Yeah.  Tobin just said she would come and Lindsey, Lys, and Christen told me earlier they were in.”

“Cool,” Ashlyn says, turning to Allie, “You want to come?”

Allie nods as Dawn calls them over to start their weight session.

~~~

After dinner that evening  the whole team, minus Mallory and Ashley, the two high schoolers, meet to talk about their game plan for their Equal Pay Lawsuit.  Alex has had a few conversations, mostly with Becky, about staying as a name on the lawsuit since she is still one of the most recognizable faces of US Soccer.

After an hour of talking, the team is as ready as they can be.  Carli, Hope, Becky, and Alex make a plan to go over a few smaller things tomorrow leading up to their tv interview the following day.  

Tobin walks over to Alex as they all slowly stand up and make their way up to their rooms.  

“Are you ready for this?” she asks when she gets to the forward.

“I think so,” Alex nods.  “Somehow we’ve been able to keep the memory loss out of the media and this is the first live thing I’ve done since then. I’m just a little worried that they might ask about something small that I should know but can’t remember.”

Tobin motions to some couches in the hotel lobby and the two walk over.  “You should come up with some sort of signal,” Tobin says as they sit down with about a foot of space between them. Tobin slides her flip flops off and turns towards Alex, sitting cross legged.  “So if there is a question the others know to take it.  Because at least for this one the other three will be there with you. “

Alex nods, “Do you have a signal in mind?”

Tobin laughs and nods, “Of course.  Neigh like a horse and they’ll know to take the question for you.”

Alex can’t help but laugh too, pushing Tobin’s shoulder, causing her to fall back into the pillows behind her.  “Yeah cause that won’t be obvious.”

“Not at all,” Tobin replies, trying to be serious.  She deepens her voice, sitting up straight and pretending to straighten her tie, “So Alex, how much alcohol did you drink after winning the World Cup?”

Alex laughs, “I don’t need a memory to know the answer to that question is probably too much.”

Tobin nods in agreement, “Good point.  Also it’s mostly just going to be about the lawsuit and I think you’re good on all of that.  It might not hurt though if you have a signal, just in case.”

Alex nods as she brings her right knee up to her chest, leaning into it.

The two spend another hour talking, mostly Alex asking questions about the little things from the past few years.

~~~

Two days later, Alex groans as her alarm wakes her up at 5:30. She rolls out of bed, heading to the bathroom with her clothes to get ready.  45 minutes later she walks out of the room and heads down to the lobby.  Alex looks down at her phone while she waits for the elevator and sees Tobin texted her a few minutes ago.

**Tobin: Good luck.  I’ll be watching to hear the neigh**

Alex chuckles as she steps into the elevator.

**Lex: Can’t believe you’re up this early.  Also we changed it...the signal is a flip of the mane**

Alex adds a horse emoji then sends the text.

~~~

“Not really digging Florida, Ash,” Whitney says from behind the keeper as the team is instructed to get to the bus.

Ashlyn shakes her head, pulling her phone out of her bag to take a picture of the alligator on the other side of the field.  “Just don’t get too close and he won’t eat you.”

Whitney scoffs, “Wow thanks.  You wouldn’t say that if I was Ali.”

Ashlyn nods, “You’re right.  I would tell Ali to hide behind you.”

Whitney slaps Ashlyn’s shaking shoulder as the keeper laughs and heads to the bus with Heather.

~~~

“Work it girl, work it.” Kelley calls out to Alex from behind the camera.  

“Shut it, Kel,” Alex calls as she raises the flag up behind her, smiling for the camera.

Kelley snickers as Tobin walks into the room, heading towards the make up artists.  Kelley follows Tobin into the curtained off section, sitting in the seat next to Tobin.  “So.”

Tobin looks at her through the mirror as her hair starts to be brushed. “What Kel?”

“Alex told me you taught her how to ice skate,” Kelley says with a mischievous smile, “again.”

“Kel, come on,” Tobin sighs, running her hand through her hair before it is slapped away.  “Sorry,” Tobin says to the person that had just brushed her hair.

“I was there last time you taught her.  Very touchy feely if I remember correctly,” Kelley says as she spins the chair.

“We held hands.  That’s it.  I did that with Kat too a few minutes later.  It didn’t mean anything.”  Tobin sits quiet as a light line is drawn around her lips.  Tobin pushes the hand away, turning towards Kelley, “Wait, did it mean something to her?” Tobin forcefully whispers, leaning towards Kelley.

Kelley shrugs her shoulders, hopping up out of the chair.  “Just saying you guys weren’t together last time you taught her.  It was in a team environment again.  And,” Kelley draws out, “who knows what’s going to happen.”  She smiles at Tobin, squeezing her shoulder.  “I’m going to go take a nap, have fun with your photo shoot.”

Tobin shakes her head as she falls back into her seat and make up starts getting applied again.

~~~

Tobin crawls over the middle row of seats in the car after Allie and Alex have moved.  Christen laughs, slapping at Tobin’s foot in her face as she pushes the seat in front of her down and easily slides out of the car.  

Alex stands with the rest of the players that decided to come, watching as the two walk over to them.  Meghan walks around, handing out all of the passes to the non Pride players.  She holds the pass out to Alyssa but pulls her hand back as Alyssa goes to grab it.

Meghan looks up at the much taller keeper, “Now I know you like to be the center of attention, but you need to keep yourself in check.  No running out onto the field while the Pride is being introduced.  Today is not about you,” Meghan points at Alyssa. “Got it?”

Alyssa shakes her head. “It’s not like anyone is going to be able to see you,” she replies as she reaches down and snatches the pass out of Meghan’s hand. “Shortie.” Everyone laughs as Meghan puts her hand up to her mouth, faux offended.

They head into the stadium and up to the box where they will be sitting.  Tobin sits down next to Christen and Allie sits down next to her.  Alex leans over the railing from her seat next to Allie and looks down on the field where the two teams are warming up.  She spots Servando and watches him for a few minutes until the teams head back to their locker room.

Allie leans forward next to Alex.  “I thought we weren’t here for him?” she asks quietly.

“We’re not,” Alex replies, turning to look at Allie.  “We’re not,” she repeats when she see’s Allie giving her a look.  Allie hums at Alex’s response and turns to join in on the conversation Tobin and Christen are having with Ashlyn and Ali.

~~~

Alex finds her eyes tracking Servando unconsciously when he comes in halfway through the first half.  Allie gives her a look when Alex starts clapping after he makes a good pass.

Alex puts her hands in her lap and turns to talk to Lindsey over the empty seat left by Meghan who is down at field level waiting for half time.  The half ends and the Pride is welcomed to the field.  The gals clapping a little louder for their two teammates when they are introduced.

The second half begins not long after Ashlyn and Meghan return to their seats.  Alex does a better job on focusing on the ball and cheering for the Timbers even through their 4-1 loss.

The team waits a while as fans file out of the stadium before they get up and make their way back to the cars.

In the car, Tobin rests her chin on the back of Alex’s seat, joining in on their conversation about the game.  Alex feels her phone vibrate in her hands and looks down at the text.  She see’s it’s from Servando and quickly tucks her phone between her legs, looking back up at Tobin.  She sees that Tobin is turned towards Allie and didn’t see Alex’s phone.

Alex waits until she is back in her room, starting to pack for their journey up to Connecticut.  

**Serv: Heard you were at the game.  Thanks for coming.  Did you get your memory back?**

**Alex: Yeah I was there.  It was good to see you play.  Memory is still gone but I’ve been figuring it out slowly**

It isn’t until Alex is climbing into her bed that her phone vibrates again.

**Serv: How are you doing with Tobin?**

**Alex: We’re just friends**

**Serv: I recently found something you sent me a while ago that you wrote about you two.  Do you want to see it?**

Alex rereads the text, thinking for a moment.

**Alex: What is it?**

**Serv: Well I was a little mad at you when told me you two were dating.  We were sorta texting and you ended up sending me an email that explained your relationship.  I still have it.**

**Serv:  I’ll send it.  If you don’t want to read it then you don’t have to.  Just in case.**

Alex smiles as Kelley turns the light off.  

**Alex: Thanks**

**Serv: When do you leave?  Do you want to meet for coffee?**

**Alex: We leave early tomorrow morning for ct.  Maybe when we come to play the pride**

**Serv: Def or for a timbers match**

Alex plugs her phone in and rolls over with a yawn.

~~~

Alex looks out the window at the snow covered ground below them as the plane starts to approach the runway.  She hears Whitney talking to Ashlyn in front of her.

“Okay, I take it back.  Florida was better than this.”

Ashlyn stands up slightly and turns around, “Hear that Alyssa?  Whitney wants to go back to Florida.”

Alyssa just shakes her head and chuckles from the other side of the plane.  Ashlyn continues to lean over her seat looking at Alyssa as an announcement comes over the speakers.  “Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated with your seat belts fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign.”

Whitney pulls Ashlyn down, chastising her, “Behave.”

~~~

“It’s April.  Why is there snow?” Ali asks as they head onto the field, her hood pulled tight around her face.

Practice starts and the team quickly forms into two groups, the ones that want to play in the snow and the ones that want to be sitting beside a warm fire.

Alex is one of the first on the bus once practice is over, sitting in her normal seat.  Tobin climbs onto the bus, rosey cheeked, 15 minutes later and sits down in the seat in front of Alex.  She quickly turns around as Christen sits down next to Tobin.  

“So,” Tobin starts, looking between Allie and Alex. Her eyes land on Alex, “How’s your hip doing?”

Alex’s head falls back and she groans, “It sucks but it’s fine.  I’ll hopefully play at the Philly game.”

“I’m sorry about your hundredth cap,” Tobin says, resting her chin on her hands.

Alex sadly smiles, “You said you would score for me since I scored for you in yours.”

Tobin chuckles. “I said maybe,” she corrects.

Alex shrugs, “Oh, come on.  You’re not going to score for me.” Alex turns to Allie, “You’ll score for me right?”

Allie nods, giving Tobin a look, “Of course.”

“Well,” Tobin draws out, “we,” motioning to Christen, “were going to head out to the coffee place across the street from the hotel for something hot to drink.  You guys want to come?”

Allie and Alex nod and Tobin turns back around in her seat with a smile, talking to Christen.  

The four sit, buried deep in the back of the cafe, with a warm coffee clutched in their hands, talking for hours.  They make it back to the hotel before dinner, each with a hot chocolate in their hands as they head into the conference room.  Kelley smiles as she watches Tobin and Alex bickering as they load their plates with food.

~~~

Alex stands on the sidelines, wrapped in a large coat, waiting for the two teams walk out.  Her mom leans closer, rubbing her hands together, trying to get warm.

“You know,” she starts, “this game was almost in sunny California.”

Alex snickers as the announcer comes on to announce the teams, “Sorry I lost my memory ma.  I just wanted to make you suffer in the cold with me.”

Alex feels a strong arm snake around her, “Let her be Pam.  Our little baby is being celebrated for being so phenomenal.”

“I’m proud of you sweetie, I am.  Just freezing,” Pam says, bouncing on her toes.

Tobin’s eyes lock with Alex’s as the two teams turn around and the announcer starts talking again.  Tobin flashes her a thumbs up as Alex walks onto the field.

Alex stands in between her parents, holding the large bouquet of flowers, her 100 jersey clenched in her fist.  Alex glances back at the team, all of them clapping or smiling but Alex’s eyes land on Tobin.  Tobin is clapping her hands lightly together, her eyes turned up towards the jumbotron.

Alex’s eyes glance up and she watches highlights of her goals cycling through.  She turns her attention back in front of her and gets a few pictures with her family before she walks off the field.  Alex heads off the field and walks with her parents up to the box that Ashlyn and Morgan are sitting in, warm and toasty.

~~~

The game starts and five minutes in the three start loudly cheering as Tobin takes the ball down the left hand side, around four defenders, ending up at the six yard box.  She passes it under the diving Colombian keeper and right in front of the goal. It bounces around, ending up at Crystal’s feet before sending it straight into a defender’s chest.  

“Handball,” Ashlyn shouts as the keeper scoops it up.

Five minutes later, Tobin cuts in with the ball, passing it between two defenders.  The ball is then passed to Allie who blasts the ball towards goal, where it bounces off of the crossbar and into the stands.

The three injured players groan as they hear the ball slam into the crossbar.

Tobin gets the ball on a pass from Mallory, she kicks the ball right into the legs of a Colombian player.  She gets the ball back a few seconds later, sending it back towards goal only for it to be blocked again.  The ball bounces around a few more times before Crystal slides it under the keeper and into the back of the net.  The three cheer loudly along with the rest of the stadium.

Five minutes after that, Lindsey gets the ball, sending in a cross towards Allie who jumps awkwardly to get her head on the ball and send it into the net.  Alex jumps up. “Yes, Allie.”  Allie raises a finger in the air looking at Alex for a moment with a smile before running towards Lindsey.

Ashlyn leans over as Colombia restarts the game.  “Looks like both your girls are trying to score for you.”  Alex looks at Ashlyn confused, “She has taken more shots already in this game then I think she did in the past two and she’s getting past defenders even easier than normal.”

Before Alex can respond the two see Carli send in a perfect pass to Mallory who sends it far post into goal.  Carli scores five minutes later to end the scoring for the first half.

Alex asks Morgan about Houston while waiting for the second half start.

Crystal chases a long kicked ball up the far end of the field, crossing it in right before it gets to the endline.  Tobin runs into open space as the ball comes in front of the goal.  Tobin knocks it with the inside of her foot before it hits the ground sending it past the arms of the young keeper.  

Tobin turns towards the box and smiles up at Alex.  They lock eyes for a few moments until Carli and Allie reach Tobin, taking her attention away. Alex claps as the players all return to their positions.  Tobin looks back up towards Alex, and subtly points to her.  Alex makes a showing of clapping as the whistle blows and Tobin refocuses.

A few minutes later Alex cheers as Allie knocks it in with her head again.  The goal scoring for the team ends ten minutes later when Christen scores on a curving ball from just outside the 18.

~~~

Alex, Morgan,and Ashlyn wait for the team on the bus.  Alex sits in the aisle seat of her normal row.  As the players file on Alex leans over to the window to see Tobin and Allie walking towards the bus.  Alex leans back in her seat as Tobin climbs onto the bus and heads to the seat in front of her.

Allie arrives next to Alex making her slide over to the window seat.  Allie leans into Alex, her body shaking, “Sooo cold.”

Alex smiles, “Where’s your goal ball?  I want to sign it.”

Allie shivers as she disengages and reaches into her bag, pulling out a plastic shopping bag.  She reaches in and pulls the white and orange ball out of it.  Alex pulls a sharpie out of her own bag and takes the ball.

She hands the ball back after writing a short message.  “So the second goal was for me right, cause the first one was definitely yours,” Alex confirms.

Allie shrugs, “If that’s what you want.”  Allie looks down at her ball, “Oh my God did you seriously write your favorite bridesmaid?”

Alex shrugs as she leans over the seat and Christen’s head to talk to Tobin.  “Your goal is mine though, Tobin.”

Tobin turns, dropping her hand from clutching the rings through her shirt as she looks to Alex, “It _was_ for you.  You scored for me when I couldn’t play.  It was the least I could do.”

“Still, you played great today.  Lots of nutmegs.”

Tobin chuckles, “Well I have a lot of practice.”

Christen reaches over, slapping Tobin’s leg, “You’re lucky you haven’t tripped someone yet with all that _practice_.”

Tobin just continues grinning as Alex mouths a silent ‘thank you’ and sits down.

~~~

A few days later, Alex and Ashlyn sit in the small booth overlooking the field in Philadelphia as the second half starts. They watch in silence until they see Tobin go down hard, curling into a ball and clutching at her legs.  Alex leans forward, trying to see if she’s okay.  After a minute Tobin gets up, shaken and play resumes.  Alex sits back and Ashlyn gives her a look, “You’re cute.”

“Huh,” Alex asks, half focused on the game again.

“You’re cute when you try to act straight,” Ashlyn smirks.

Alex turns to Ashlyn, full attention on the blonde. “What?”

Ashlyn shakes her head, turning her attention back to the field.

A little while later the substitution board goes up 10 for 11.  Carli starts jogging off the field, pulling her captain’s armband off.  Alex smiles as she sees Carli hand it to Tobin with a handshake and slap on the back.  She watches Tobin look down at the red and white band, taking a long time to slip her hand through the band.  Ali pats her back as she runs by and Tobin finally sliding the band up her arm.

A few minutes later, Ashlyn and Ali are both on their feet as Tobin sends in a pass from a free kick for Julie’s second goal of the game.

The game ends with a few more shots but the score stays at 3-0.  Alex and Ashlyn stay in the booth while the players make their way around the field signing things.

Alex’s eyes spot a young boy running around the field.  She then sees Tobin chasing after him, a huge smile on her face.  Alex’s eyes follow the two as Tobin plays with the boy.

Ashlyn leans over, “That’s her nephew.”

Alex nods, continuing to watch until Tobin walks off the field and into the tunnel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts on this chapter.  
> The next update will be tomorrow or the day after


	15. Thorns Thorns Thorns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some cute moments in this I hope you like

Alex and Tobin sit in their living room watching the Spirit verse Breakers game.  After the Spirit score on a bicycle kick in the first few minutes the game becomes very back and forth.

Tobin stands up at halftime and heads to the kitchen, “Pasta with chicken for dinner sound okay to you?”

“Yeah,” Alex calls as she stands up and follows Tobin into the kitchen.  She watches Tobin move around the kitchen with ease, putting the water to boil and getting the chicken from the fridge.  “Can I help with anything?” Alex asks as Tobin takes the chicken out of the package.

Tobin turns, noticing Alex for the first time. “Salad?”

Alex nods and heads to the fridge, pulling out everything she will need and setting them all out on the table.  She then sidesteps Tobin to grab the cutting board, knife, and bowl.They work in silence, the only noise being the voices coming from the television in the living room.

They hear the second half start as Alex finishes, moving to the sink to start cleaning. She looks over at Tobin who is tending to the chicken on the stove. “Tobin?”

“Mhmm,” Tobin hums, her eyes still on the chicken.

“Did we ever talk about having kids?” Alex asks.

Tobin’s head snaps up, her spatula half under one of the pieces of chicken.

“Wha…?” Tobin stutters.

“Kids. Like did we ever talk about starting a family together.  I know we weren’t engaged that long but maybe it came up before that.”  Tobin continues eyeing Alex. “Nevermind.  Sorry.”

Tobin shakes herself out of her stupor, “No, no, no,” she looks down at her chicken, flipping it over before looking back at Alex.  “We did,” pausing for a moment before asking, “Why?”

Alex shrugs, “I don’t really know.  I’ve just been thinking about it.  And like it’s weird for me to think about it but I’m older then I feel like I am.  I don’t know. I was kind of just wondering what our plan was going to be I guess.”

Tobin lets out a breath, “You sure?”  Alex nods.  “Alright.  Well we were thinking about adopting cause of soccer and well ...the lack of penis.”

“What about insemination?” Alex interrupts.

“We talked about it but that’s still basically a year off of the field.  We didn’t say no to insemination, just like a not yet.  Maybe after we retire or after the Olympics even.  We hadn’t finalized anything but we just thought adopting first might be a little easier and keep us both on the field.”

“Did I want to carry?” Alex asks, extremely invested.

“Yeah,” Tobin nods as she checks on the chicken.  “It’s not that we didn’t want to carry.  We just both want to play for as long as we can and having a kid that way is something that you have to come back from just like an injury.”

“But Christie’s done it.  Same with Boxxy and ARod and a ton of others,” Alex argues.

“Lex, I’m not saying it can’t be done.  We never ruled it out.  Just we talked, adoption came up and honestly it seemed like the best idea.  It’s not like we started the process or anything.  It was just the last consensus we came to before, ya know.  Who knows.  If things were different we might have talked again and come up with something different.”

Alex nods, staying silent for a few minutes as Tobin stirs the pasta and puts the chicken onto two plates.  As Tobin strains the pasta Alex asks a follow up question.  “How many did we want?”

Tobin smiles as she shakes out the water, “As many as we could afford, but then we also weren’t sure if we could handle even one after we baby sat Ryan for a night.”  Alex chuckles as Tobin puts a few spoonfuls of penne onto each plate.  “Yeah that was a nightmare.  He didn’t stop crying the whole night.  It took forever to make him stop.  He really liked watching me play FIFA which we figured out at 3:30 in the morning.” Alex laughs again as she takes her plate from Tobin and carries it along with the salad back into the living room.

“But yeah,” Tobin says with a sad smile, “we wanted a few.  Just maybe spaced apart a few years so we didn’t have to worry about two screaming babies at once.”

They sit in silence, eating as they watch the last half hour of the game

Tobin takes their plates into the kitchen while Alex switches to the Houston game where Chicago is leading by one.

“Damn,” Tobin hears as she is putting the leftovers away.  She walks into the living room, leaning against the doorframe.  Alex points at the screen as a replay comes on.  “Watch this goal.”

Tobin watches as a Houston player picks up the ball after a sloppy slide by Chicago  and sends it curving around the keeper. Tobin lets out a low whistle, “What about the other game?”

Alex switches it over and sees the score is still tied at zero. After a minute of watching Tobin turns around, heading back into the kitchen.  Alex follows her, putting her hand on Tobin’s back as she scrubs at the pan.

“I got it.  You cooked,” Alex tells Tobin.

“You sure,” Tobin asks.

“Yeah. Go sit down.  Let me know if anything big happens,” Alex says, pushing Tobin out of the room before turning to the dishes.

~~~

Tobin rolls out of bed after noon and stumbles into the living room, rubbing her eyes.

“You’re alive,” Alex comments from her spot on the couch.  “I was about to come in and check to make sure you were still breathing.”

Tobin yawns in response as she walks by.  A moment later she walks back into the room with a water, simply stating “I like to sleep in.” Tobin puts her water on a coaster before climbing over Alex and laying down on the couch.  Her eyes close and Alex can tell she is fast asleep again within five minutes.

Alex lets her sleep for another thirty minutes before leaning over and lightly shaking her awake.  “Tobin you should wake up,” Alex coos.

Tobin groans, smushing her face into the pillow.

“Come on Tobin, you need to eat and get ready.”  Alex pokes at Tobin’s stomach.

“No” she huffs as she brings her knees up to her chest, protecting herself from Alex’s finger.

Alex begins to wiggle her fingers across Tobin’s side. “Nooo,” Tobin moans, pushing Alex’s hands away with a smile.  Her eyes stay closed as she sits up, her lips squished into a pout.

“Perfect,” Alex smiles, sliding her hand into Tobin’s and pulling.  “Come on you need to eat.”

Tobin stands up, pout still evident as Alex leads her into the kitchen.

~~~

The crowd around the stadium is buzzing already when Tobin pulls into the parking lot.  She looks over at Alex in the passenger seat, “It’s going to be crazy in there.  These fans, the riveters, go hard.  It’s going to be kind of like the City game.  Take it in.  Let it drive you.”

Alex smiles, silently nodding, staring into Tobin’s eyes. Tobin smiles back and they get out, grabbing their bags from the back row.

They walk into the locker room and Alex heads to her locker, smiling at the red jersey hanging below her name plate.

Tobin nods to her from a few lockers over as she starts getting ready.

Alex quickly changes into her shorts and warm up shirt and looks over to see Tobin in her shorts and a sports bra talking to Allie.  Tobin absentmindedly sliding her fingers through the rings hanging from her neck.

Alex chews on her lower lip as she puts her socks and shoes on one at a time.

~~~

Alex walks around the field, shaking hands with the Orlando players.  She gets to Ashlyn and holds her arms out, wrapping the keeper in a hug.  

“You know,” the keeper starts, “sometimes I think you hate me.”

“What?” Alex asks, leaning back to look into Ashlyn’s eyes.

“You slide right into my shoulder with your very boney knee,” Ashlyn replies, rubbing her right shoulder for good measure.

“At least it wasn’t my studs,” Alex offers as Tobin walks over.

“Hey, Ash,” she smiles, “Great game.”

Ashlyn snorts, “Says the loser that got three assists.”

Tobin shrugs, a huge smile on her face.  “That’s captain loser to you missy,” she says pointing to the band on her left arm before continuing.  “It’s really hard to lose in this place,” she gestures to the still cheering fans.  “You and Kling still on for dinner?”

Ashlyn nods and they both head to their separate post game team meetings.  Alex is then lead to the Riveters, thanking them.  She gets her small bouquet and Tobin gets a crown.  Alex signs an endless amount of autographs before finally making it into the locker room.  

Tobin is showered and dressed when Alex walks in.  She looks up as Alex walks by.  “Hurry up, I’m hungry.”

“Eat your arm then,” Alex snarks back as she gets ready for her shower.

“Do you have a granola bar?” Tobin begs.  Alex shakes her head, causing Tobin to pout and moan.  Once she finishes getting her stuff together for her shower she walks by Tobin, dropping a granola bar in the midfielder’s lap as she walks by.

“Liar,” Tobin calls after her, “an amazing, wonderful liar.”

~~~

Ashlyn and Meghan climb into the back of Tobin’s car.  “So where are we going?” Meghan asks.

Alex turns in her seat as Tobin backs out of her spot.  “Well I want a juicy burger so,” she turns her head to Tobin, “we’re going somewhere where I can get a juicy burger.”

Tobin turns and smiles at Alex before pulling out of the parking lot, “Burgers sound good.”

Ashlyn elbows Meghan, while Alex smiles at Tobin.  Meghan smirks and looks between the two before clearing her throat.

A few minutes later Tobin pulls into a parking lot, followed by Allie’s car.  The six make their way into the pub and stuff themselves into a booth.  Allie, Tobin, and Alex on one side and Lindsey, Meghan, and Ashlyn on the other.  

They all order drinks and Tobin orders a plate of fries as soon as the waitress comes over.  They each then open their menus to figure out what they want to eat.  The waitress returns with their drinks and Tobin’s fries, passing them all out before taking their orders.  

Once she leaves, Lindsey starts telling the table the story of her walking in on Allie and Bati a few days ago.  Tobin starts laughing as Allie reaches over the table to try an stop Lindsey.  Tobin reaches for Allie’s arm, pulling her back.

Tobin sits back once Lindsey moves onto another topic, she notices movement from the corner of her eye.  She sees Alex chewing and looks down at her plate of fries, noticing ketchup smeared in the corner.

She turns back to Alex, “You stole my fries.”

Alex swallows and grins, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Tobin blindly picks up a fry, watching Alex through squinted eyes as she brings it up to her mouth.  She glares at Alex as she takes a bite, making a large showing of chewing it.

Alex stares right back into her eyes, unable to keep her face serious as she starts to smile after a few seconds. Tobin grins and pops another french fry into her mouth, turning back to the table.

Ashlyn smirks, “So Alex.” Alex turns from staring at the side of Tobin’s head.  “How are you liking Portland?”

Alex raises an eyebrow, “Good?” she draws out skeptically.

“So you like your house and everything?”

Alex nods, “Yeah.  It’s small but cute.  It has a nice little yard and-”

“Oh, I know what it looks like,” Ashlyn says.  “I’ve visited.  I just was wondering what you thought of it this time around.  You know, seeing if your decision making has changed at all.” Ashlyn holds in a snicker as Meghan kicks her under the table.  Ashlyn looks at Meghan quickly before turning back to Alex, “which it appears it hasn’t.”

Ashlyn purposely turns her head slightly to Alex’s right.  Alex turns to look at Tobin, her head turned towards Allie as she pushes a handful of french fries into her mouth.

Tobin turns when she feels she’s being watched and finds Meghan, Ashlyn, and Alex all looking at her.  “What?” she asks, her mouth still full of food.

“Nothing,” Meghan says, drawing attention to herself.  “Ash and I just noticed that Alex is the only non heel here.”

“What about me?” Lindsey asks, elbowing Meghan.

“You were going to go to UNC, so,” Meghan explains, “you’re a tarheel fan by default.”

“Woah,” Alex exclaims, “that’s not how that works.”

They continue bickering until they get their food and even then they continue bickering about who’s the best through bites of food.

~~~

Alex stands outside of Tobin’s door, glancing down at her watch again.  She groans, knocking on her door.  “Tobin, let’s go.”  Alex hears a response but can’t make it out through the closed door.

Alex opens the door, “Tobin come on, we’re already run-running late.”  Tobin turns from the closet and Alex sees her in a gray bra and sweatpants.

“I can’t find my travel shirt.  I don’t even know where it could be since this is our first away game.”  Alex glances down from Tobin’s face to the rings resting on a chain above her belly button.  Alex’s eyes follow the chain back up to Tobin’s face.

She walks to the small dresser in the room.  “Do you mean the one right here?” Alex lifts a shirt off of a pile of shirts sitting on top.

Tobin smiles, walking over to Alex, “Yes.  Thank you.”  She takes the shirt from Alex’s hands and slips it over her head.  Tobin smiles, “Okay.  I’m ready.  Let’s go.”

Tobin grabs her bag and heads out into the hallway, Alex following behind.

~~~

The Thorns stand in a circle after taking the team picture.  Alex listens to Allie talking but her eyes are focused on Tobin as she points to which side of the field she wants then shaking hands with Becky. Alex turns back to the team as Tobin starts to jog over but smiles when she feels an arm slip over her shoulder.  Tobin adds a few final thoughts before she leads them through the cheer and onto the field.

~~~

After the game and a shower, Alex walks outside with her phone out.

**Alex M: Where are you?**

**Syd: Turn around**

Alex whips around and her eyes land on Sydney.  She runs over to her, dropping her bag and enveloping her in a hug.

Sydney groans, and brings her hands up to her chest as Alex quickly backs away.

“Are you okay?” Alex asks worriedly.

“Yeah,” Sydney chuckles, “just sore boobs.”

Alex looks down at Sydney’s slightly bulging stomach. “How’s he doing?”

“Well I’m pretty sure both of his parents are professional soccer players so I’m waiting for him to break a rib. I’m hungry all of time, which is nice because I have an excuse for eating whatever I want whenever I want.  Dom’s taking it like a champ but he’s also more of a primadonna then I am.”  Alex laughs as Sydney loops her arm through Alex’s.  “Come on. I’m hungry.  We’re going to a diner.  They don’t judge me when I get weird combos.”

~~~

“So,” Sydney asks as she slides a spoonful of her milkshake into her mouth.  “How’s it going with the Thorns?”

“Good,” Alex says, her face scrunching in disgust as Sydney sprinkles salt onto her next spoonful.  “That’s nasty.”

“It’s not as bad as you would think,” Sydney replies, holding her spoon towards Alex.  “You want to try some?”

“Hell no,” Alex laughs as she takes a sip of her water.

“How’s living with Tobin,” Sydney asks, mouth half full of milkshake.

“She’s definitely  neater, more homely than she was in 2012.  I think she found a home in Portland.”

“Is that so?  You think it’s all Portland’s doing?”  Sydney looks at her with a knowing smirk.

“What do you mean?” Alex asks even though she thinks she knows what Sydney is hinting at.

“Alex, come on,” Sydney whines as she finishes her salty milkshake.  “You can’t be that oblivious.”  Alex stays silent, her fingers picking at her straw wrapper.  “You were her home, Alex, probably still are.  She fell in love with the city, yeah but she fell in love with you first.”

Luckily for Alex their food is brought over, Alex’s wrap and Sydney’s waffle piled high with macaroni and cheese.

Sydney digs in while Alex takes small bites of her wrap.  Halfway through her waffle, Sydney takes a break.  “So where do you guys stand?”

“Syd,” Alex tries.

“Oh, come on, give me something.  I want to live vicariously through you.  I’m married and pregnant.  My biggest thing in recent was the gender reveal.  I want some excitement.  Please Al.  Your life is like a daytime soap.  General Pitch or Games of our Lives.”

“Shut up,” Alex laughs.  “We’re just friends.  I think we’re sorta back to where our friendship was.  It’s different but it’s not really awkward anymore.”

“So you’re telling me she hasn’t tried anything with you?” Sydney groans, staring at Alex as she resumes eating.

“Yes,” Alex replies, confused.  “She knows I don’t want her to and she’s respecting that.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“What?  Why wouldn’t I be okay with her doing what I want?”

“I feel like if I was in your shoes I would want Dom to try and sex me up.  That is so totally how it would go on a soap.  The sex would bring back the person’s memory.”

Alex laughs, “You’re watching too much daytime tv.  I think you need to find a new hobby.”

~~~

Alex opens the door, dragging her bag up the final step inside and dropping it along the wall.  “I’m going to bed.”

Tobin smiles as she follows Alex in.  “You want me to make dinner?”

“Yes, please,” Alex whimpers as she starts down the hallway with a yawn.  Tobin watches Alex turn into the master bedroom, the door closing behind her.  She smiles and walks into the kitchen, looking for something to eat.  

After not feeling what little she finds in their cabinets she grabs her keys and phone, heading for the door.  She almost trips over her bag while checking her phone to see the time.

Tobin looks at both of their bags, sighing and dragging them over to their small laundry room.  Tobin dumps her clothes in before picking up Alex’s bag, placing it on the dryer and opening it.  She tosses Alex’s clothes in on top of hers, making sure to add the fabric softener that Alex likes before starting the load and heading out the door.

~~~

Alex rolls to the edge of the bed, rubbing her eyes as she glances at the clock, **6:13 PM**.

After a few minutes she rolls out of bed and stumbles into the kitchen.  The door to the backyard is open and Alex can hear music softly playing.  She walks through the kitchen to the glass door, leaning against the frame.  She smiles as she watches Tobin bounce around to the music playing from her phone as she stands in front of their grill.  

“What are you making?” Alex asks from her spot.

Tobin looks over her shoulder, “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“I was tired,” Alex complains.

“Maybe because you were out with Sydney until like 3 in the morning,” Tobin shrugs, a large smirk on her face.

Alex walks over and slaps her shoulder, peering at the grilled vegetables and steaks Tobin has on the grill.

“Mmm,” Alex moans, “that looks good.”

Tobin smiles, “See.  I can cook.”  Alex shakes her head as Tobin pulls the vegetable skewers off the grill, placing them on the plate next to her.  “Want to go get us drinks?”

“Sure,” Alex turns and walks back into the house.

Alex sets the two glasses down on the table, looking out the door for Tobin.  She sees Tobin taking the last of the food off of the grill.

She turns to Alex, holding the  plate full of food and motioning with her head.  “Bring the drinks out here.”  Alex opens her mouth to question her, “Don’t argue.  Just grab the drinks and come out here.”

Alex glares at Tobin as she grabs the glasses and brings them outside.  Tobin walks down the steps to the yard.  Alex stops at the edge of the stairs and sees Tobin heading towards a blanket laid out behind the grill.

“Tobin?”

Tobin looks up with a soft smile, “We used to eat outside whenever we grilled.  At least when it’s warm enough.”

Alex slowly walks down the two steps to the grass and walks over to the bright red blanket.  She hands Tobin her glass of water and sits down in front of the empty plate Tobin has set up for her.  

Tobin takes off her black snapback and moves to lay on her stomach. She reaches over grabbing one of the two skewers, using her fork to push the vegetables off and onto her plate.

Tobin looks up at Alex, as she reaches her fork towards the plate of food.  “Is this okay?  You used to like this.  We can just order something if you want.”

“No, no,” Alex hurriedly gets out, putting her hands up to stop Tobin as she is pushing up into a kneeling position.  “I just... There's still so much that I don't know from before.  Things I don't even know that I don't know until they happen.”

Tobin lays back down, sticking her fork into one of the steaks and shaking it off onto Alex's plate.  “Think of this as a new tradition then.  We eat outside when we grill.”

Alex smiles as she starts cutting up her food.

~~~

Alex stands in front of the front door, pointing at the door then turning around looking at her room.  She walks to her bedroom, looking around, then walking back to the front door.

“I walked in, put it down, then went to sleep,” Alex mumbles.  “Or did I bring it to my room.”  Alex walks back to her room, opening the closet doors and looking around the whole room.  She heads back to the front door, continuing to mumble to herself, “Did I even bring it inside?”  Alex opens the door, pulling on a pair of flip flops Tobin left next to the door.

“Where are you going?” Tobin asks, her head peeking out from her bedroom.  

“The car.  I think I left my suitcase in it.  I don’t actually remember.  I was so tired.”

“Oh,” Tobin moves from around the door and ambles down the hallway in a black sports bra and white boxers. Tobin walks into the living room and towards the laundry room.   “Your stuff is in here.” Tobin picks up Alex’s suitcase from on top of the dryer, handing it to her.

Alex easily takes it, “This is empty.”  Tobin pulls down a laundry basket and opens the dryer.  “Oh.”

“Sorry,” Tobin says, “I forgot about them once I started dinner.”  Tobin starts pulling the clothes out, putting everything into the laundry basket.  

“You didn’t have to do my laundry.” Alex says as she watches Tobin pull out a pair of her underwear.  “Yeah you really didn’t have to.”

Tobin shrugs, “We always did our laundry together.  It was too small of a load to put in just my stuff.”  Tobin stands up handing Alex the basket.  “Here uh, just pick around my stuff and give it back to me when you’re done.  I don’t really need any of it until we leave again.”  She looks down at the basket, sheepishly smiling, “And, uhhh, ignore my underwear and stuff.”

Tobin grabs her empty bag and steps around Alex, walking back to her room as Alex stares after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like the cute stuff? 
> 
> The next chapter is the hardest to write so far so I'll get it up as soon as I can.


	16. Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long. Moving is tiring. Hopefully this chapter answers a bunch of questions.

“Toby.”

Tobin turns from where she is standing with Lindsey and Whitney to see who was calling her.

“Steph, how many times must I beg you to stop calling me that?” Tobin groans.

“Hmm,” the Boston forward ponders, “bribery works better.  Gina always said I wasn’t a very good listener.  At least I think that’s what she said cause then there would be money in my hand.”

“I don’t get how your mom hasn’t sent you to the pound yet,” Lindsey adds while giving Stephanie a hug.

Kristie walks up, “She has. Steph somehow escapes and always ends up here.  It’s really rather annoying actually.”

Stephanie glares at her and walks away to finish her handshakes.

~~~

A few days later, Alex sits in the middle her bed, legs crossed, her computer open in front of her.  Her cursor hovering over the bold letters of the unread email.

**Servando Carrasco: [FWD] I’m sorry**

Alex stares at it for a few minutes, her mind going back and forth on whether or not to open it.  The same as she has at least three times a week since it arrived in her inbox almost a month ago.  She looks towards her door, making sure Tobin isn’t walking in.  ‘ _She’s out with Lindsey._ ’

Alex grabs her computer and pulls it onto her lap.  She tucks her legs even tighter under her as she takes a deep breath.

“Here goes nothing,” she says to reassure herself, double clicking on the email.

Al,

Here’s the email.  Hopefully our schedules cross and we can meet up soon.

S.

* * *

 

**From:** Alex Morgan

**Sent:** Tue September 3, 2013 at 1:34 pm

**Subject:** I’m sorry

> Serv,
> 
> I know you’re upset about me dating Tobin and that you’re getting shit from your teammates.  I‘m sorry that they are being jerks about it but there is nothing I can do to change that.  I’m not going to break up with her.  I do want you to know that you didn’t turn me gay or turn me off of men or whatever bullshit they might be saying.  You didn’t do that to me.  I swear.  I never really understood it until Tobin but I have been attracted to both men and women my whole life.  I’m bi or something.  I don’t really know but it doesn’t even matter because it’s Tobin.
> 
> Serv, when we were together I did love you.  You were my first love and for that I will always love you on some level.  It was special but our love wasn’t the same as what I feel for Tobin.  We’ve only been together a few months and I’ve known for a while that I want to spend my whole life with her.  I hope that you find someone that you can love and that loves you back the way I love Tobin.  I can’t believe I’m even telling you I love her when I haven’t even told her.  I mean, is it really normal to know that someone is perfect for you only a month after you drunkenly kiss them in a bar?  She’ll probably think I’m crazy if I told her this, but I am.  I’m crazy about her.
> 
> I know it’s weird to be talking to you about this but if we’re going to be friends you need to be okay that I’m dating her and I need to be able to talk about her without worrying that I’m going to upset you.  
> 
> I’m sorry if this was too much, I just thought you should know.
> 
> Love,
> 
> Alex

Alex reads through her words multiple times, analyzing each of them and finally starting to see how much she loved Tobin even in just the first few months of their relationship.

~~~

Alex walks onto the plane behind Allie, groaning.  

“Why do we have so many away games in a row.  Why didn’t we just stay in Boston?  I could have hitchhiked to DC and that would be less tiring than flying back and forth so much.”  She sits down next to Allie and leans back in her seat to prepare for the long trip.  She closes her eyes, places her head on Allie’s shoulder and with a yawn drifts to sleep.

Alex wakes to a light shake of her shoulder.  “Al. I need to pee.  You need to move.”

Alex moans, unbuckling her seatbelt and sliding out of her seat so Allie can get out.

Once she is back in her seat she pulls her computer out, connecting to the airplane wifi and going to her email.  She sees a new email from her agent asking for her final decision on a few appearances.  Alex continues scrolling, stopping every few to refamiliarize herself with the jobs he is asking her about.

Allie comes back, standing over Alex.  Alex looks up, holding up a finger.  “Hold on a sec.  Let me just finish reading this.”  Allie nods and glances down at Alex’s screen as Alex reads the last few lines and then exits out of the email, going back to her inbox.  Before Alex can stand up, Allie puts her left hand on Alex’s shoulder, the other pointing at the screen.

“What is that?”  Allie asks, her finger hovering over the email from Servando at the bottom of Alex’s screen that has a red flag next to it.

“Shut up,” Alex angrily whispers, looking at the next row where Tobin is mindlessly flipping through a magazine.  She looks back at Allie who is staring her down.  “I’ll explain later.”

Alex stands up and lets Allie back into her seat.  When she sits back down she continues searching through her email to find the ones she needs.

~~~

Tobin smiles as she walks out of Allie and Mana's hotel room the night before the game. She follows Dagny to their room and heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth.  When she comes out she moves towards her bed, looking for her phone.

“Have you seen my phone?” Tobin asks, patting the pockets of her sweatshirt for the third time.

Dagny looks around before shaking her head.

“Ugh.  I must have left it in Allie’s room.”  Tobin picks her room key up and heads towards the door.  “I’ll be back.”

She walks back down the hall, smiling when  she sees the deadbolt keeping the door open.  She starts to reach her hand out when she hears Alex's voice coming from inside the room and stops, “Say something.”

Allie’s voice then comes through the crack, “So you sent this to Serv?” ‘ _Servando_?’

“Yeah,” Alex responds.

“And he sent it back to you?” Allie questions.

“Yeah.”  Tobin leans against the wall right next to the door, her breath becoming shallow.

“This email says you guys are planning to see each other.” ‘ _What_?’

“Yeah.  We were going to do it back in Orlando or Philly last camp but our schedules just didn’t match up.”

“So you still want to meet up with him?” ‘ _Please be no._ ’

“Yeah.  Why not?” Tobin pushes off the wall and quickly walks the forty seven steps back to her room.  

She stands outside her door trying to control her breathing.  After five minutes, she wipes her cheeks, leans her head against the cool wood of the door as she fishes the key card out of her pocket and softly opens the door.  

The bedside light is on and Tobin pulls the hood of her sweatshirt up over her head.  Dagny looks up from her book over the rim of glasses.  “You find it?”

“No,” Tobin roughly gets out, crawling into bed.  “They were asleep or something.”

“I’ll text them for you to bring it down to breakfast,” Dagny says, turning the page of her book.

“Thanks,” Tobin garbels through the pillow.

~~~

Tobin and the rest of the team all stands once the movie ends and starts fileing out of the packed hotel room.  Alex slides to the edge of the bed but Allie puts her arm out to stop Alex from getting up.

“We need to talk,” Allie explains

Alex groans, “Allie,” and her head falls back onto the pillow.

Allie looks at Mana in the next bed.  

Mana hops up, “I’m gonna go take a shower before bed.”

The second the bathroom door closes Allie sits up and leans over to Alex.

Allie rolls over onto her side quickly.  “Alex why are you talking to Serv.  I thought you said you were over him,” she blurts out.

“I am,” Alex protests.

Allie’s eyebrows raise. “Then why is he sending you emails?”

Alex sighs, “It’s something I sent him from when Tobin and I first started dating.”

“What?” Allie asks confused, “You were sending him stuff while you were dating Tobin?”

“Just, hold on.”  Alex pulls out her phone, taking a few minutes to pull up the email.  She holds the phone out to Allie, “read it.”

Allie’s eyes quickly take in the words before she scrolls back to the top and starts rereading the email.

Allie stays quiet. “Don’t just stand there quietly.  Say something,” Alex nervously demands.

“So you sent this to Serv?” Allie asks.

“Yeah,” Alex replies as Allie continues looking at the phone.

“And he sent it back to you?”

“Yeah.”

“This email says you guys are planning to see each other,” Allie says, finally looking up.

“Yeah.  We were going to do it back in Orlando or Philly but our schedules just didn’t match up.”

“So you still want to meet up with him?” Allie asks.

“Yeah.  Why not?”

Allie raises her eyebrow, “Alex.”

“Allie, I’m just going to talk to him, not jump him.”

“You sure because if you are I just want to know.  I won’t judge you.  I just need you to keep me updated on your love life.”

“Allie, I don’t have a love life,” Alex whines.  “I’m living with my ex fiance who I don’t even remember dating.”

“Well that's a good place to start,” Allie smirks.  “So,” Allie draws out, still smirking.  “What did you think of the email?”

“I don’t really know.  Reading that helped a little,” Alex smiles.  “It kind of explained some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Allie asks, intrigued

~~~

Tobin sits up the next morning the second Dagny’s alarm goes off, relieved that she no longer has to lay in bed, unable to sleep.  She gets dressed quickly and heads down to breakfast early.  She picks at the bowl of fruit and yogurt she made for herself until her teammates walk in.  She forces a smile and starts spooning the yogurt into her mouth.

Allie slides into the seat across from Tobin.  She reaches into her pocket, pulling out Tobin’s phone.  “Here ya go lazy.  You know you could have just walked down the hall and found it yourself” Allie jokes as she slides it across the table.  “It was in my sheets.  How did that even happen?”

Tobin shrugs, mumbling, “Thanks,” as she stands up, pocketing the phone and heading out the room.  Allie stares after her confused but is drawn into a conversation with Mark before she can question it further.

~~~

Tobin holds out her hand as Ali gets to her, barely looking her in the eye.  Ali gives her a weird look but just shakes Tobin’s hand before smiling at each of the officials and shaking their hands.  They shake hands again after the coin is tossed and make their way to the their respective teams.

The game is rough for Tobin from the start.  It’s an elbow fight up and down the far side of the field through the first half, Ali being the lead offender.  

Tobin trudges into the locker room at halftime.  She sits with her head bowed, her hands over her head while Mark talks to them.   She walks out onto the field even more agitated than she was for the first half.

A little over ten minutes in Allie and Mana crowd a Spirit player, trying to get to the ball and end up tripping her.  A foul is called and Ali lines up behind the ball to take the free kick.  Emily and Tobin stand, making a wall.  Emily runs offs to follow a Spirit player.  Tobin stands in front of Ali as she drops her hand.  Both of them running towards the ball at the same time.  Tobin jumps up and turns her back to the ball, the ball deflecting off of her shoulder.  

The whistle blows as Tobin stumbles into Ali.  Tobin puts her hands up in confusion as the official runs over.  He reaches into his pocket pulling out a yellow card.  Tobin puts her hands behind her head laughing before stepping forward to start arguing with him.  He waves her off and she takes a few steps back, still arguing as Ali sets the ball down.  The official takes the ten steps from the ball, holding his arm out until Tobin backs up to his arm.  

Ali quickly raises her hand and runs in to kick it. Tobin weakly sticks her leg out and ducks her head as the ball sails over her.

A few fouls later, Tobin chases after the ball up field.  The ball bounces from a Washington player to Tobin who cradles it to the ground before charging up field with it.  She sends it a little too far in front of her and a defender kicks it away.  Tobin charges in and pushes her to the ground, chasing after the ball as the whistle is blown.  Tobin picks up the ball slamming it to the ground.  

The ref starts walking over to Tobin.  Ali and Dagny both walk to him arguing one way or another for Tobin to get carded.  He calls Tobin over as Ali keeps arguing.

Tobin puts her hands on her hips, agitated as he tells her she needs to calm down.  Tobin starts to argue with him as he reaches into his pocket.  He smiles as he pulls a yellow card out and holds it up in the air.  He shrugs and shakes his head as she continues arguing, reaching into his back pocket and then holding up a red card.  He starts to walk away and Tobin follows after him, continuing to argue.  He points her off of the field and she starts walking away pulling the captain’s band off as she approaches Mark.  Mark can see the defeat on her face and takes the band from her as he slaps her other hand.

Allie jogs over to grab the band from Mark as Tobin heads to the locker room.

~~~

As soon as their post game meeting is over Allie heads towards the locker room, only signing a few autographs as she passes fans.

She walks into the locker room looking for Tobin but finds it empty.  She sees Tobin’s jersey, cleats, and shinguards tossed at her locker.  Her bag laying upside down in front of her locker.

Allie walks through the room and out the far door into a hallway.  She bites her lip and looks up and down the hallway.  She hears a loud bang from behind a door to her left.

Allie’s shoulders fall and she heads to the door of the small training room.  She opens it slowly, peeking her head around.  She watches Tobin holding a box under her right arm, reaching in and chucking rolls of tape at the wall.  Tobin stands between two tables in the middle of the room in her shorts, sports bra, socks pushed down to her ankles and the silver chain swinging violently from her neck with each throw.  

Allie walks in, “Harry?”

Tobin continues throwing the rolls of  tape at the wall. “Tobin,” Allie tries again, louder.  Tobin groans loudly, hurling the entire box at the wall.  Her shoulders slump and she walks to the treatment table in front of her, turning to face Allie as she sits down.  

Allie walks over, picking up a knocked over stool and putting it down in front of Tobin.

“Tobin, what the fuck happened out there,”  Allie asks, as calm as she can.

“That ref was on a fucking power trip,” Tobin mumbles, looking at her feet, “probably just wishes he had hair.”

“Oh my God Tobin.  Why are you so pissed?  This isn’t just about the game,” Allie’s tone becoming angry.  “You’ve been weird all day.”

“It’s nothing,” Tobin says under her breath.

“It’s not nothing,” Allie demands.

“I don't want to talk about it.”  Tobin swings her feet up onto the table, sliding herself back and hugging her knees to her chest.

“Tobin you just got two yellow cards.  You slammed the ball to the ground.  Tell me what's wrong now.”

Tobin sighs, leaning forward and putting her face into her knees. “I heard you and Alex talking last night.  I heard you guys talking about the email that Servando sent.”

“And you’re mad about that?” Allie looks at her confused, “What did you hear?”

“Enough,” she replies leaning back onto the table.

“What does that even mean?” Allie scoffs.

“Enough to know that she wants him back.  Enough to know that she doesn't want to be with me. I...I should just stop fighting.  I should just stop trying.  Every time I get upset that she's not going to come back to me, something small happens and I think that there's a chance. It pushes down on all those thoughts.  I push down my feelings every time she hurts me and I don't think I can do that anymore. I don't.”

“Tobin.  Please don’t give up.  Not yet.  Just give her a few more months,” Allie pleads

Tobin shakes her head, her arms flopping off the table on either side. “But I don't know how.  There's only so much I can take.  I don't even know if I can live with her anymore.  I want to so bad but being in the same house with her, the house that we lived in together for a year and a half, it's hard and I just don't know if I can take it anymore.”

Allie leans against the table near Tobin’s legs.  “Tobin, you didn't hear the whole conversation.  The email wasn’t abo-”

“What the email was about doesn't matter.  She’s still talking to him. She still thinks there might be some hope.  Still thinks there’s a slight chance that she can be with him. I can't take the chance of still being close to her if it happens.”

“She doesn't want to be with him. He's with someone else.”

“Just cause he's with someone else doesn't mean she can't want him.”

“Tobin,” Allie pleads, “I promise she does not want to be with him.”

“How do you know?” Tobin says, her eyes blinking back tears as she stares at the ceiling.

“Because I told her,” Alex says from the door.

Tobin bolts upright and Allie turns her head towards the open door.  Alex stands just inside the room, still fully dressed from the game.  Tobin wipes both sides of her face, mixing the tears with the sweat on her arm.

“Tobin.  I’m over Servando, okay?” Alex takes slow steps closer.  “The email he sent me was one I sent him from when we first started dating.  It’s about us and how happy we were.”

Tobin’s face softens, slightly embarrassed.  She looks down at her legs, lightly swinging them.  Alex stands behind Allie and places her hand on Allie’s shoulder and squeezes.  The blonde nods and stands up.  She pats Tobin’s knees and turns, giving Alex a grateful look before heading out the door.

Alex watches her leave before sitting down on the now empty stool.  She looks at Tobin who is still staring down at her swinging feet.  With each soft kick the rings softly clink together and brush over her legs.

Alex lets them sit in silence for a minute before she breaks it.  “Tobin?”  Tobin looks up, her red eyes meeting Alex’s.  “Want to tell me what you’re thinking?” Alex asks softly.

Tobin takes a few breaths, “I feel lost.”

Alex reaches her hand out, lightly placing it on her knee. “How can I help?”  Tobin shakes her head after a moment, looking back down.  “Tobin, I’m sorry.”

“Do I have a chance?” Tobin whispers, barely audible.  Alex looks at the rings for a moment, then back towards Tobin’s bowed head.

“I’m still trying to figure it all out.  If you want to move on you should.”  Tobin’s hands white knuckle the table.  “I don’t really know yet.  I’m not saying it would never happen but I don’t want you to hold out for it in case it doesn’t.”

Tobin silently nods.

They sit in silence for a few more minutes, the noise from the locker rooms trickling in being the only noise disrupting their silence.

Tobin looks up at Alex through the hair that has fallen loose from her ponytail.  Alex gives her a small smile.

“I guess we should go shower and get our stuff together,” Tobin says sliding off of the table.

Alex nods standing up and walks next to Tobin as they make their way to the door of the training room.  “Tobin?” Tobin stops.  “Do you wish we never got together? Knowing this was going to be how it ends.”

Tobin looks at her for a little while, twisting the doorknob in her hand while she tries to find the right words. “No,” she shakes her head sadly.  “I...Those were the best two and a half years of my life.  Even if we don’t get...back together…” Tobin takes a deep breath and opens the door.  “I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”  Tobin walks out the door and to the locker room.  


	17. Happy Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School is starting soon so updates are going to be a little more spaced out, once a week maybe.

Tobin sits at the kitchen table, trying to find all of the hidden marshmallows on the back of the Lucky Charms box.  She wipes her chin with the back of her hand as a little milk dribbles from her mouth.  

“Charming,” Alex says as she walks into the kitchen, her hair wet from her shower.  Tobin looks up over the box.  Her cheeks puff out as she grins around the bite she just took.  Alex shakes her head and walks towards the fridge, pulling out a yogurt.  “You know we are leaving in like an hour right?” Alex asks as she walks towards the table, taking in Tobin’s oversized t-shirt and boxers.

Tobin nods, taking another bite.  “I just need to change and then I’ll start packing.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me?”  Alex asks incredulously.  “You haven’t started packing yet?”

Tobin smirks as she lifts the bowl to her lips and finishes off the remaining milk.  She stands up and moves to the sink, placing her bowl down.  “I finished packing last night.  My bags are sitting right next to the door.  We could leave now if you don’t mind me going in my pjs.  You’ve had problems with that in the past though so you probably want me to change.”  Tobin looks over her shoulder towards Alex,  “Stop worrying.  You trained me well.”

Tobin rinses out her bowl as Alex glares at her.  “Go change, jerk.” Tobin looks towards Alex and smirks again before leaving.

Alex finishes her yogurt then heads towards her room.  She notices Tobin’s door open and leans against the frame, knocking on the wall just inside.  Tobin sticks her head out of the bathroom, toothbrush hanging from her lips.

Alex walks in and sits down on Tobin’s bed.  Alex hears the sink running then a few seconds later Tobin flops down on the bed.  She rests her cheek on her hand and looks up at Alex, “What’s up?”

Alex rubs her palms off on her shorts.  “I heard you after the red card.” Alex says softly, looking into Tobin’s eyes.

Tobin moves up onto her elbows. “Yeah,” Tobin draws out.  “I know, you came in.  You talked me down,” Tobin mumbles the last part.

“I heard you before that.  You said you wanted to move out.” Tobin’s breath catches as Alex continues.  “I know it’s been awhile since then but I was wondering if you still planned on moving out.”

“Oh...Sure...Yeah...I can… leave,” Tobin says stumbling over her words.  “When we get back I’ll start… looking for something.”

“No,” Alex almost shouts, causing Tobin to jump.  “Sorry,” she says sheepishly.  “I didn’t mean that.  I don’t want you to move out.  I mean if you want to move out then you can.  I’ll even help you, like find some place or something.  Or if you just can’t live with me then I should be the one to go. Or we can both move. Or-” Alex stops rambling when Tobin’s hand moves from holding up her chin to resting on Alex’s knee.

“Alex, take a breath,” Tobin commands.  Alex takes a few quick breaths before she gets control.  “I don’t want to move.  I was just upset. You hooked up with some guy and it just made me jealous.  I was obsessing over if you would ever bring someone here and if that ever happened I...I just wouldn’t be able to handle that.”

Alex puts her hand on Tobin’s back.  “I wouldn’t do that to you. I promise.  And just so you know I didn’t leave the bar with that guy.  I haven’t seen him or talked to him since.”

Tobin nods.  “So, uh, do you want me to stay?”

Alex nods, “Yes.  I was just making sure you weren’t staying for me or that you didn’t just leave one day without telling me.”

Tobin pats Alex’s leg. “I would never do anything for you,” Tobin scoffs sarcastically.  “You obviously don’t know how selfish I am.”

Alex shakes her head and lightly slaps the back of Tobin’s head as she stands up.  “If you ever do need to move out or something,” Alex says becoming serious and turning to face Tobin, “just tell me.  I want to know what’s going on and to help however I can.”

~~~

Alex sits on the plane next to Allie as Tobin’s laugh echoes up the aisle.  “So you’ll think she’ll like it right,” Alex worriedly asks.

“Yes, Alex,” Allie groans.  “As I have told you many times, it’s something you guys had been talking about for a while.  I think she’ll love it.” Allie answers in a calming voice.

Alex relaxes, “Okay.”  Allie turns back to her magazine, flipping through pages of brides.  “But you’re sure thi-”

“Alex, yes.  She will like the fucking birthday present.  Now shut up.”

“Oooo,” a voice behind Alex’s turned head coos.  “What did you get me?”

Alex turns to find Lindsey’s head perched right over her shoulder.  “Jeeze Lindsey.  Way to give me a heart attack.”  Allie chuckles and picks her magazine up.

“So.  I know my birthday was yesterday but I do accept all forms of currency as a belated present.”  

Alex chuckles.  Allie reaches into her pocket, “If I give you this 5, will you shut up and go sit down?”

Lindsey reaches for the green paper, but Allie tucks it into her fist, eyes not looking up from the pages in front of her. “Are you going to leave?”

“Does this mean I don’t get a birthday present?” Lindsey asks, pouting, her eyes fixed on the reemerging bill.

“We fucking got you a present already.”

Lindsey smiles, “I know.”  Her hand darting out and grabbing the money from Allie’s hand.  She is two rows back before Allie can react.  Alex turns around watching her.  She then sees Tobin shaking her head as the now twenty two year old skips to her seat.  Tobin locks eyes with Alex for a second, smiling before sliding into her row followed by Lindsey.

~~~

Tobin sits eating her breakfast as Megan bounces into the conference room.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBIN.” She shouts, shaking Tobin’s chair as she comes up behind her.  

Tobin drops her fork.  “Fucking A.”

Megan laughs as she slides into the seat next to Tobin.  “You’re not a young little whipper snapper anymore.  Granny’s getting wrinkles.”  She pokes at Tobin’s face.

Tobin shakes her head as she picks up her fork again.  Morgan reaches over and slaps Megan’s arm.  “Be nice to her.  It’s her birthday.”

“I’m always nice.”  She then turns to Tobin.  “I want a picture of your legs at practice.”

Tobin starts laughing, “What?”

“It’s a tradition. That I’m starting right now,” Megan states as Tobin and Morgan continue laughing at her.

“Do I even want to know what you’re going to do with the photo?” Tobin asks.

“Probably not,” Megan replies with a mischievous wink.

Two arms slide around Tobin’s neck.  “Happy birthday,” Alex quietly says.  “I also would like a picture later, but of your face...and mine because that is an actual tradition.”  Alex tightens her grip for a moment before releasing Tobin and walking over to the buffet table to get her food.

Allie and Kelley both give her a quick hug too before following after Alex to get their food.  Once she has her food, Alex slides into the seat on the other side of Tobin, immediately turning to look at her.  “So how does it feel being so old.”

“Is it pick on Tobin day?” Tobin whines, pouting at Alex.

“Yep, comes around once a year,” Alex grins.

~~~

Alex steps out of the elevator with Ashlyn, joking with the blonde keeper as they turn the corner into the lobby.  Alex spots Tobin sitting on the couch, eyes closed, her fingers mindlessly playing with the rings around her neck.

Alex pats Ashlyn’s arm, motioning to Tobin with her head.  Ashlyn nods and watches Alex walk towards Tobin.  Alex pulls her bag off her shoulder, digging into it as she reaches the couch.  She sits, slightly jostling Tobin’s cushion causing the midfielder to open her eyes.  

Tobin sees Alex sitting next to her and quickly moves to tuck the necklace back into her shirt.

“Wait,” Alex reaches up, stopping Tobin’s hands. Tobin looks at her confused as the rings drop out of her hand and lay against her shirt.  Alex pulls out a small, long box wrapped in orange wrapping paper.  “I was going to give this to you later but I figure now is as good of a time as any, so… Happy birthday,” Alex says softly as she holds out the box.  Tobin takes it, looking at Alex confused.

“Well.  Open it,” Alex presses.

Tobin looks down, slowly pulling the paper off revealing the black velvet box.  Tobin looks back up at Alex, eyebrow raised.  Alex gives her a reassuring smile.  Tobin looks back down at the box, lifting the lid.

Tobin looks up at Alex confused, her eyes darting down to the silver chain resting inside the box.

“That one,” Alex points at the chain around Tobin’s neck, “is getting kinda gross and starting to rust with how often you wear it.”  Tobin’s hands automatically reach for it, tugging on it.  “Allie said that’s what you used to use to hold the house keys on it and you used to swing it around and drop it everywhere.  I figured that if you were going to continue wearing the rings, they should at least get a nicer chain.”

Tobin’s smile stretches across her face.  She places the box in her lap and reaches up, pulling the chain off of her neck.  She carefully switches the rings onto the new chain with Alex’s help and pulls it over her head.  She looks down at the rings and takes a deep breath.  She reaches her arms out and wraps Alex in a hug.  She pulls away and tucks the rings carefully back into her shirt.  

“Thanks,” Tobin says, as she plays with the rings through her practice shirt.

Alex meets her smile with one of her own, “It’s nothing.  That’s not even your real present.”

“Wait, what?  I don’t need you to get me anything.  Seriously?  This was more than enough” Tobin pleads. “Wait is it the game tonight?”

“Nope,” Alex pops, “it’s a surprise, but come on we got practice.  Then you have your big live Facebook debut with all of your adoring fans.”

Tobin nods, standing up. “So you going to tell me what it is?” Tobin grins as they head towards the bus.

“No.  You have to wait until we get home,” Alex chuckles as they step onto the bus.

“UGH.  Alex.  That’s in like a week.  That’s so far away.  You’re killing me.  You should have just not told me,” Tobin falls into her seat.

“There’s no fun in that,” Alex says as she sits in the seat behind Tobin.

~~~

Alex stumbles into the conference room in front of Allie’s guiding hand.  

“Why are you pushing me?  I was going to come anyways,” Alex complains.

“You weren’t walking fast enough and I don’t want to miss this.  It’s going to be hilarious.”

“Be nice,” Alex says slapping at her as they make there way to the chairs where Christen and Lindsey are sitting across from Tobin.  Tobin’s eyes trained on a phone sitting in front of her.

“No one really wants to see me.  Chris you should do this,” Tobin says looking up across the table separating them at Christen.

“Oh no,” Allie commands.  “I have been waiting for this all day.  You’re not backing out now.”

Tobin awkwardly sits there as she is shown again how everything is going to work.  At 2:30 the camera is turned on.

Tobin claps her hands, “Blast off.” Lindsey bites her fist to keep from laughing.  “Am I live?” Tobin asks, looking up at Allie who is on her computer watching.  Allie nods.  “Are you sure?” Tobin chuckles.  Allie gives her a thumbs up.  Tobin turns back to the phone, “What’s up everyone?  This is Tobin here.”

Lindsey starts making faces behind the phone, catching Tobin’s eye as she continues to talk to the camera, trying to stop from laughing.

“Any questions,” she says as she gets a text, looking at the four people sitting behind the camera and seeing Christen holding her phone, smirking.  She picks up her phone, smiling at whatever is on the screen.

Alex leans over to look at Allie’s screen as the blonde starts typing.  Alex eyes catch the numerous questions that scroll by asking about their relationship.  She then looks to Tobin as she as she tries to find a question to answer.

Alex continues switching between watching Tobin and watching the questions scroll by, laughing at Allie and Lindsey trying to get Tobin to answer the questions they are asking.

"Favorite holiday?" She reads out quickly glancing off camera.  Alex looks up from Allie's computer to see Tobin turning away from her.  "Definitely Christmas, come on. Yeah."  She looks down at her legs, picking at the hole in her jeans.

"I'm not one for birthdays so this is kinda just like one of those days," she mumbles, taking a breath and chewing on her lip before moving on to the next question.

Alex looks at Tobin confused as she starts to answer the next question.  She smiles when Tobin starts talking about how she “hard chills” on game days.

She watches Tobin shift uncomfortably in front of the camera until she is signaled that she only has to answer two more questions.  Tobin perks up slightly as she talks about the ocean and dolphins.

~~~

Later that night, after the Brazil Panama game, Alex walks out of the stadium alone, having gotten stopped by some fans wanting pictures and autographs.  She finds Allie, Kelley, and Heather waiting for her near the exit.  She takes a picture with the two teens they were talking to before they all start heading for the car.  

“Where’s Tobin?” Alex asks when she notices the woman isn’t with them.  “And Christen,” she adds as an afterthought.

“They slipped away before we were all surrounded,” Heather replies.

“Yeah,” Kelley adds, “Chris texted me and said they would meet us at the car.”

Alex nods, picking up her pace ever so slightly.  They get around the final row of cars before theirs and see Tobin and Christen sitting on the rear bumper of the team car.

Alex watches Tobin laugh at something Christen said as the four head over.  She unlocks the car once they are ten yard away, causing the two to look up.

Alex smiles as sweetly as she can while she squeezes herself in between the two.  She puts her arm around Tobin’s shoulder, “So Tobs, how’s your birthday been?”

“Pretty good,” Tobin responds.

Alex continues to smile at Tobin until Kelley coughs into her hand, causing the two to turn and look up at Kelley.  Alex notices Christen standing with the others, not sure when she stood up. “It’s getting kinda late.  We should head back,” Kelley explains, holding up her phone to show the time.

Tobin stands up and Alex’s arm falls down her back.

~~~

The team somberly climbs off of the bus after their first game against Japan, walking into the hotel.  Alex trails behind, disappointed in their tie. Tobin leans against the back of a couch waiting for Alex to walk into the lobby.  When she does, Tobin walks over, “Come sit with me?”

“Sure,” Alex responds confused.  

Tobin heads over to the couch she was just leaning against.  They sit down and stare at eachother for a few silent moments smiling.  Alex raises her eyebrow, “What’s up?”

“Oh, right.  You had a great game today.”

“We didn’t win,” Alex sighs.

“You scored two goals and got in a ton of great shots,” Tobin tries.  “The keeper was just really on her game.”

“If they were so great then they would have gone in.”

“Alex, you’ve been carrying this team since you got back.  You’ve been doing great in Portland.  We’re at the top of the table thanks to you.  We’re going to go to Rio.  You’re going to go to Rio.  I know I was skeptical about you going at first.  I was worried because of your injury but the second you told me you were going I knew that you had a better chance of getting on that roster then I did and there was nothing I could do to stop you.”

“Tobin,” Alex interrupts, “you know that’s not true.  You get the ball in front of the goal.  You have every assist so far for Portland.  Tobin, we’re both going to Rio.”  Alex smiles as the thought settles in.  “We’re going to Rio.”

Tobin nods her head.  “See.  There’s that smile.”

Alex slaps at Tobin, softly chuckling, “Shut up.”

“So, since I made you smile,” Tobin smirks, “want to tell me what my surprise is.”

“Nope,” Alex pops, her smile growing.

“Oh, come on,” Tobin groans.  “You’ve been showing everyone a picture or something of it and you’re torturing me.  Mal said if I don’t want it she’ll take it but I don’t even know what it is.”

“Is that what you guys talk about at night before you go to bed,” Alex asks.

Tobin chuckles, “Well after we talked about her prom _and_ her high school graduation we hit a little bit of a wall so we started talking about how it was when I came on the team.  Somehow my birthday came up and then she said that she wants my… new longboard.” Tobin tries, looking expectantly at Alex.

“Good try.  Not going to happen,” Alex chuckles.

“What could it even be?  It’s not your memory right?  You wouldn’t trick me like that.” Tobin asks, looking at Alex almost hopeful.

Alex shakes her head, putting her hand on Tobin’s leg to sooth her.  “It’s not that.  If that ever happens you’ll be the first to know.”

Tobin nods as Alex rubs Tobin’s leg, soothing her.  After a few moments, Tobin smiles at Alex, “We should head up to bed.”

“Yeah,” Alex replies, quickly pulling her hand away.  “Early flight tomorrow.”

They both stand up and make their way to the elevator, getting on and silently riding to their floor.

They step off but neither move from their spot as the elevator doors close behind them.  “Well,” Tobin breaks the silence, “Goodnight.” She turns to her left and walks to the door of her room.

“Goodnight,” Alex mumbles to Tobin’s back as she slides her key into her door.  Tobin turns to her, her body half in the room.

She looks at Alex, still standing in front of the elevator, “You okay?”

Alex quickly bobs her head, “Yeah, totally, sorry.  See you in the morning.”

~~~

Kelley loops her arm through Alex’s, squeezing under the forward’s umbrella as they head to their post game dinner following their second game.  “So buddy,” Kelley smirks, “Killer storm right.”

Alex nods, “That’s why I have an umbrella, Kel.”

“And that’s why _I_ have you as my bestie.  You share your umbrella with me.”

“Not like you gave me much of a choice,” Alex grumbles.

“So do you want to share more with me?” Kelley grins.

“It’s your own fault you didn’t bring a jacket.  I’m not giving you mine,” Alex informs her as they arrive at the restaurant.

Kelley looks around while Alex shakes out her umbrella.  “No I meant something more personal.  Something you would only tell your best friend.”

Alex stops mid step, looking down at her shorter friend.  “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Kelley responds, walking around Alex into the crowded restaurant.  “Just want you to remember that you can tell me things.  Like your feelings and such.  You know, typical best friend things.”

“Like...” Alex asks as the team is led to their tables.

“Like your birthday presents to Tobin,” Kelley says holding her arm out to stop Alex from following.  “Not something you would have given her a month ago, a year ago definetly, a month not so much.”

Alex stays silent so Kelley continues.

“We don’t need to talk about it yet if you’re not ready.  Just tell me when you are and we’ll talk,” Kelley says with a calming smile and a pat to Alex’s arm.

“Thanks Kel,” Alex mumbles.

~~~

Tobin slumps into the house followed by Alex.  Tobin’s bags hit against the back of the couch as she rolls over it, belly flopping onto the soft cushions below.  Tobin groans, her face half buried into a throw pillow.

“I’m going to go shower, then I figured we could go pick up your present,” Alex tells her as she puts her bags next to the laundry room door.  

Tobin’s head pops up, watching Alex.  “Why can’t we go now?” Tobin pouts.

“Because I feel disgusting.  You should shower too,” Alex says as she heads towards the hallway.  Tobin nods her head and sits up.

Twenty minutes later, Alex walks out of her room, freshly showered, looking for Tobin.  After peeking her head into the other woman’s room and finding it empty, she heads to the living room.  She finds Tobin sitting on the couch where she left her.  Her legs curled up under her and her face squished into the cushions. The snapback that was on her head when Alex left now laying on the floor.

“Tobin?” Alex calls.  After a few seconds of no response Alex chuckles, biting her lip, debating on trying harder to wake her up.  She shakes her head and walks into the kitchen, grabbing a pen and piece of paper from a drawer.

She scribbles a quick note in case Tobin wakes up.

_Tobin,_

_I went to go pick up your present by myself since you’re dead.  Be back soon._

_Lex_

Alex places the note in Tobin’s lap and picks the hat up off the floor.  She places it on her head and grabs her keys from the bowl next to the door, heading towards her car.  She drives to Michelle’s house, knocking on the front door eagerly.

She smiles as the keeper opens the door.  Michelle looks around Alex towards the car.  “Where’s Tobin?” she asks.

“Wow.  Great to see you too,” Alex says sarcastically.

“Glad you’re back Alex.  I just wanted to see Tobin’s reaction.”

“She was sleeping.  Long flight.”

Michelle groans, “Okay.  Come on, help me get everything into your car.”

~~~

Tobin’s eyes squeeze shut as something rough and wet brushes against her face.  Tobin puts her hand up as it repeatedly rubs against her cheek and eye.  ‘ _Tongue.  That’s a tongue._ '  The tongue starts lapping at her hand.

“Wha…,” Tobin grumbles, blocking her face with her arms.

“Wakey, wakey Tobin,” Alex coos.

“What’s licking my face?” Tobin asks, half asleep with her arm still covering her face.

Alex backs away slightly, the lapping tongue moving to her own arm.  Alex chuckles, “How do you know it’s not me?”

“Your tongue isn’t that rough,” Tobin says, starting to lower her arm, her eyes widening as she realizes Alex’s comment and her response were abnormal for their present relationship.

When her eyes reach Alex’s though she doesn’t see embarrassment or shock, just a warm smile beaming down at her as a black puppy wiggles in her arms.

Tobin looks from Alex to the puppy then back, twisting her head to the side in confusion.  “What’s that?”

“Your birthday present,” Alex answers, holding out the wiggling dog.  “Happy Birthday.”

Tobin takes the dog, placing it in her lap.  The small dog bounces off of Tobin’s lap and runs into the kitchen, tail wagging.  Tobin looks towards Alex as she stands up, “Explain.”

“That’s a puppy, your puppy to be exact,” she replies, following Tobin into the kitchen.

“What’s its name?” Tobin asks while she sits down in the middle of the floor and watches the dog sniff along the floor.

“ _He_ doesn’t have a name yet,” Alex says from the doorway.

Tobin scoops up the dog as he trots by, “Hmm.  What should we name you little man?”  Her hand starts scratching the top of his head.

“Why don’t you go play with him outside?  Get to know him and that way if he pees it won’t be in the house,” Alex adds with a smile.

Tobin stands, cradling the puppy in her arms and walking over to Alex.  She holds the puppy out, tail wagging and tongue aimed right for Alex’s face.  Alex grabs the puppy’s face, kissing his nose and avoiding the tongue.  “He was going to give you a thank you kiss,” Tobin pouts.

Tobin takes the unnamed pet outside with a light blue leash while Alex goes to her car to grab the rest of the dog’s things she had been hiding at Michelle’s.  Once she is done, Alex walks out onto their small wooden porch and watches Tobin kicking a ball between her feet.  The dog’s head moving back and forth like he’s watching a tennis match.

“So I was thinking maybe we could name him Blue Devil,” Alex smirks, “Blue for short.”

Tobin stops and looks up at Alex, “Are you kidding? Over my dead- OW.” Tobin looks down as she pulls her foot away from the sharp toothed, teething puppy trying to nibble on her toes.

“We could name him Bear,” Alex tries as Tobin bounces from foot to foot, playing keep away with her feet from the bouncing puppy's mouth.  Tobin glares up at her before scooping him up.  

“This little dude is a Tar Heel all the way,” Tobin responds, laughing when he starts barking.  “See.  He’s agreeing with me.”

“He’s probably just hungry.  Come on.  Let’s feed him,” Alex calls while Tobin holds him out, his butt wiggling excitedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any ideas on what I should name the dog?


	18. Chicago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the name actually came to me in Grey's Anatomy. Blue Devil/Blue and Bear were said jokingly in the previous chapter because it is Duke's(UNC's rival) and Cal's mascots.

Alex walks out of the kitchen looking around for Tobin or the still unnamed black lab puppy.  She wanders towards Tobin’s room, standing outside the open door.  She pulls out her phone and quickly takes a few pictures of the adorable duo.  Tobin is fast asleep, curled into a ball, still in her practice gear from this morning’s workout.  The black fur ball is curled up on the pillow next to Tobin’s face, their noses almost touching.

Alex sends the picture to Kelley.

**AMorgs: I think she likes him**

Alex heads back towards the kitchen, picking up the toys that cover the floor in the living room.  The mess partially from the dog but mostly from Tobin trying to figure out which toys were the most fun to play with.  

Once she has refilled his water bowl her phone vibrates in her pocket.

**Kel: You only fretted about it for two whole weeks**

**AMorgs: Well it would have been really bad if she didn’t like him.**

**Kel: So what did she end up naming him?**

**AMorgs: She still hasn’t picked one.  I keep giving her suggestions but so far she has said no to all of them.  At this rate he won’t have a name until December.**

**Kel: She’ll come up with something.  It’s Tobin so it gonna be out there**

Alex laughs.

**AMorgs: Yeah I’m prepared**

**Kel: What about nutmeg**

**AMorgs: That was shot down yesterday because he’s black.  If he was sandy brown that would be a contender**

**Kel: lol of course**

Alex hears barking and then a groan.  She heads to Tobin’s room with a smile.  She stands outside the door as Tobin blindly reaches for the puppy who is too scared to jump off the tall bed.

“I got him,” Alex says, picking him up from the end of Tobin’s bed. “He probably needs to be let out.”

“Thanks,” Tobin smiles, lifting her head up from the pillow to sleepily look at Alex before letting her head fall back down.

Alex hooks him up to the retractable leash and stands on the porch steps as he wanders around the yard, searching for the perfect piece of grass.

**AMorgs: He’s such a cute puppy but I can’t wait until I don’t have to worry about him peeing all over the house**

**Kel: lol.  Don’t they make doggy diapers?**

**AMorgs: I’m not putting my little boy in a diaper.  He would be so embarrassed.**

**Kel: Your little boy huh.  Thought he was Tobin’s**

**AMorgs: I have cleaned up his pee twice in less than 24 hours.  Pretty sure that makes him mine too**

**Kel: Send me more pics**

**AMorgs: Of course**

**Kel: Of the DOG**

**AMorgs: :|**

~~~

“Hey,” Tobin says, her head peaking around the door into the master bedroom.  “Want to take the pup for a walk?”  Alex can hear scratching on her door and notices Tobin’s foot also in the room, blocking their puppy’s entrance into the room.

“Yeah, sure.  One last walk before we have to drop him off,” Alex replies, looking up from the floor where she sits in front of her open suitcase.  Tobin opens the door all the way, letting their black fur ball run in.

Alex scoops him up before he is able to jump into her suitcase like he has been doing.  Alex rubs his belly as he flops over in her arms, legs splayed out.  Alex laughs at him before looking up at Tobin, “Ya know we need to name him soon.”

Tobin nods and leans against the wall next to the door.  “I know but all the names I can think of just don’t fit him.”

“You’re being very picky,” Alex says as he rolls off of her lap and tries to get in her suitcase again.  Alex quickly snaps it shut and picks him up walking to the door.  “Come on buddy, let’s go tire you out.”

“That’s way too stereotypical.  We’re not naming him Buddy,” Tobin commands as she follows Alex, stepping over the numerous dog toys littering the hallway.

Alex grabs his leash from where it hangs near the door, clipping it to his collar.  “And what was wrong with any of the other hundred or so suggestions people have given us.  Sharkbait is pretty original.”

“And give Ash that satisfaction? No way,” Tobin scoffs.

“What about Sirius?” Alex continues, “like Harry Potter.”

“What?” Tobin exclaims, “Sirius dies.”

“You’re ridiculous.”  Alex places his wriggling body down as they step outside.  He immediately hops down the three steps to the ground and starts sniffing at the grass on the edge of the path.  

They start walking down the sidewalk at a snail’s pace as their unnamed puppy sniffs at every blade of grass.  

“We could name him Alexander,” Alex smiles.

Tobin laughs, “Oh totally.  Cause that wouldn’t be confusing between you, Harry, and Kriegs.”

As they reach the spot where they normally turn around Tobin stops, putting her arm out to stop Alex too.  “I got it,” she exclaims.  Alex looks at her confused, waiting.  “His name is Norbert.”

Alex gives her a skeptical look.  “Really? Norbert is the genius name that I’ve been waiting a week for you to come up with?”

Tobin nods, a huge smile on her face.  She bends down, holding her arms out and Norbert bounds into them, licking at Tobin’s face as she hugs him.

“See.  He likes his new name.”

“Pretty sure he just ate a leaf,” Alex deadpans.

“Ooh, take a picture.”  Tobin reaches into her pocket, digging her phone out and handing it to Alex.  She then turns Norbert in her hands to face Alex.

After a few tries they finally get the perfect shot for Tobin, a picture of Norbert licking the side of Tobin’s face.  The tail a blur in the still image and Tobin’s eyes are lit up by her bright smile.

Tobin sets Norbert back down and takes her phone back to post the photo.

_Finally named this little guy.  Norbert meet the world._

When they get home Alex sits down on the couch opening up her computer.  Norbert curls up next to her, his head resting on her lap his eyes closing soon after.  Alex can’t help but ‘aww’ as his little puppy snores start vibrating her against her leg.  

Alex opens up instagram, seeing Tobin’s post first.  She notices a few of their teammates have commented on it already.

_kelleyohara Norbert? Really tobs? I’m disappointed_

_michellebetos I miss that sweet little boy.  Tell him I love him._

_christenpress omg he’s even more adorable than yesterday. Bring him to Chicago for the game_

_ashlynharris24 missed out on a great opportunity of calling him sharkbait_

_hayleyraso when can I visit?!?!?_

_allie_long_ Norbert is a beast  I already found him a little dragon costume for Halloween_

Alex types out her own comment, _Wow. Thanks for the photo cred,_ before reposting it to her own account and adding a comment of her own.

_Now we just need to get him his own jersey. @thornsfc & @ussoccer_wnt think you can hook us up?  (He told me he wanted #13) _

Alex shuts her computer down and places it by her side softly stroking Norbert’s head with her other hand.  A minute later, Tobin walks in from the kitchen and hands Alex a glass of iced tea before moving the computer and sitting down.  

“I’m going to miss him so much,” Alex sighs, looking down at him.  

Tobin nods, “We could just bring him.  Chris said she wouldn’t mind if he stayed at her place for a few days.  We could visit him and stuff.”

Alex turns to Tobin, “When did she say that?” she asks quickly.

“Uh,” Tobin thinks, “Yesterday I think she actually had a plan, but she keeps telling me to bring him every time I send her a picture.”

“Oh,” Alex replies, disappointed.  “I didn’t know you guys talked that much.”  

Tobin shrugs in response.  “She really likes dogs.”  Tobin finishes the iced tea in her glass, setting it down on the coffee table.  She looks over at Norbert as she leans back.  “As much as I would love to bring him I don’t really think he would enjoy being on a plane for so long.  He’d be so scared and think we abandoned him.”  Alex nods absentmindedly, her hand resting on Norbert’s back.

Tobin yawns.  “He does have the right idea though.  A nap sure sounds good.”  Alex can’t help but smile as Tobin stands up. “You mind if I take him to my room?”

“Go ahead,” Alex smiles.

Tobin leans down, doing her best not to wake the sleeping dog as she picks him up.  “Come on little man.  Let’s go snuggle.”  Norbert yawns, his head resting against Tobin’s shoulder as she heads to her bedroom.  Alex’s eyes follow her until she disappears.

~~~

“Are you crying?” Tobin asks, amused, as they drive to the airport.

Alex wipes at her eyes, “What, no.” She takes a deep breath, feeling Tobin’s eyes still on her.  “Okay, yes.  What if he misses us and thinks we abandoned him?”

Tobin chuckles causing Alex to shove her shoulder.  “He’ll be fine.  It’s not like he isn’t going to have a lot of fun with Bati.”

“Yeah,” Allie pipes up from the back row, “Bati can’t wait to have a boys weekend and he promised to send pictures.  I think he’ll survive.”

Alex groans as she pulls into the parking lot at the airport.  “I’m still gonna miss him,” she mumbles.

~~~

After they have a light practice to recover from their long flight, everyone heads back to the hotel for a late dinner.

Alex looks at her phone as they sit on the bus.  She turns to Allie angry.  “You said Bati was going to send pictures.”

Allie can’t help but laugh.  “He did, Al.”

“That was before we even got on the plane.  It’s been like 10 hours.  What if he ran awn away.  He’s not really used to men and he could be scared,” Alex worries.

“Alex, he loves Bati.  They probably went and played soccer all day and are sleeping.  Bati would have let me know if something happened.”

Tobin pops up from the seat in front of the two, “Yeah, Alex. You berated him enough that he would be too scared to lose him.”

Alex glares at the two before texting Bati.

~~~

After their morning practice, Tobin quickly changes in the locker room and shoulders her bag.  

Alex looks up at her from where she sits, half dressed, “Where are you going?”

“I was gonna go get some lunch in town?” Tobin stops on her way to door.

“Alone?” Alex asks when she notices no one else is with her.

“No. Chris is picking me up,” Tobin responds, checking her phone.

“Oh,” Alex stammers, “Okay.  Guess I’ll see you this afternoon.”  

Tobin nods, looking at Alex confused. “You okay?” she asks, knowing something is off.

“Yeah, just jet lag,” Alex says.

“You want to come?” Tobin asks.  “We’re probably going somewhere with coffee.”

Alex shakes her head, not wanting to be alone with the two of them. “No. It’s fine.”

“You sure.”

“Yeah, I’ll just see her after the game,” Alex responds, turning to her locker.

“Okay.  Text me if you get a picture of Norbert,” Tobin smiles before heading out of the stadium.

Tobin waits on the curb for only a minute before Christen’s car pulls up. Tobin climbs into the back.  “Hey guys,” Tobin says to Christen and Julie.

Christen turns around, “Did you not invite anyone else?”

Tobin chuckles, “I kinda forgot.”

“Of course you did,” Julie laughs.

“We had practice and I did ask Alex right as I was leaving but she was being cranky.  She said she was tired but I think she just misses Norbie.”

Julie laughs while Christen sympathizes.  “I totally feel that.  Tell her skyping with him helps.”

Tobin laughs at the thought of Bati setting up a skype date for Alex and Norbert.  “Maybe when we’re in Rio and it’s a little longer. It’s been like twenty four hours.”

“Do you not miss him at all?” Christen asks surprised as she pulls up to a red light.

“I do,” Tobin replies, “but I have some videos on my phone that I watched if I need to see him.”

Christen turns around, “Can I see?”

“Chris drive.  You can see when we get there,” Julie advises.

Christian groans and starts driving as the car behind them honks to get them to move.

~~~

Alex, Tobin, and Allie wait in the locker room for a text before they head out to Christian and Alyssa’s cars.  Alex pulls Allie with her to Alyssa’s car.  “We’re going in the A car,” Alex calls, “we’ll meet you guys there.”

Julie and Christen laugh while Tobin looks at them confused. “You just got ditched,” Christen says, bumping her shoulder against Tobin’s.

Tobin follows them to Christen’s car, “Make sure I show you the videos of Norbert that Bati sent me when we get there.  He was trying to play soccer.”

~~~

Alex walks into the pub with Allie and Alyssa.  She first spots Lindsey with a Chicago player that she vaguely remembers from January camp.  As she walks over she sees Julie sitting across from Tobin and Christen in the booth behind them.

Alex slides into the booth next Lindsey, trying to recall the Chicago player’s name.  Alex watches over Alyssa’s shoulder as Tobin shows Christen something on her phone, Christen leaning closer.

Lindsey elbows Alex. “Huh, sorry.  What?” Alex refocuses on her table, noticing the waitress.

After they order, Alex tries to focus on her table but her eyes keep glancing up at Tobin who is happily interacting with the whole table.  Right before their food comes out, Lindsey leans over, whispering into Alex’s ear, “Why didn’t you just sit with her?”

Alex turns to her but is interrupted as the waitress places a juicy burger down in front of her.

~~~

Alex loads her suitcase into her car along with Tobin and Allie.  “Let’s go pick up my little boy,” Tobin instructs as she closes the trunk.

Alex nods climbing into the car without saying a word.  Tobin and Allie exchange a look before climbing into the car as well.  The ride to Allie’s apartment is quiet save for the hum of the engine.  Alex parks and they all ride the elevator up.  

As soon as Allie pushes open the door to her apartment, Norbert runs through, bouncing back and forth between his two humans.  They both bend down to let him sniff them for a minute until Tobin picks him up and they walk in to grab his stuff.  

Alex starts walking around picking up the toys she can see while Tobin digs her phone out of her pocket.  She starts to type out a reply to her sister’s text about meeting up in Orlando when Alex throws a toy at her.

“Can you stop texting Christen for five seconds and help me get his stuff together so we can go home?” Alex asks, angrily.

“It was Katie actually,” Tobin pockets her phone without sending the text.  She leans down grabbing the toy at her feet and walking over to the laundry basket they used to carry all of Norbert’s stuff.  

Tobin places Norbert on top of the pile of squeaking toys and hoists the basket up.  She looks at Alex, still shocked by her outburst. “We can go home now,” Tobin says with fake enthusiasm.

Alex stalks out the door and Tobin looks to Allie.  “What the fuck?” she asks just loud enough for Allie to hear.

Allie shakes her head, “Just go before she gets more upset and leaves without you.  We’ll talk later.”

Tobin nods and walks out the door before Allie closes it.  Allie rests her back against the door as Bati comes over, wrapping his arms around her.  “It’s happening again isn’t it?” he knowingly asks.

Allie groans and nods into his chest.

~~~

Tobin carefully loads Norbert and his stuff into the car before getting in.  She glances over at Alex as she pulls her seatbelt across her chest.  “Want to tell me what’s wrong?” Tobin asks as Alex starts the five minute drive to their house.

“I’m fine,” Alex lies.

Tobin looks over Alex’s features, deciding at the moment it’s best not to push. “Okay.  Do you want to take Norbie for a walk when we get home.”

“No,” Alex grumbles, “I think I want to take a nap.”

“Oh okay.  We can go after dinner then.”

“Yeah. Maybe,” Alex responds.

Tobin watches Alex until Norbert starts barking for some attention.  Tobin soothes him until they pull into the driveway.  Alex quickly gets out and  grabs hers and Norbert’s stuff from the trunk. Tobin gets out and follows Alex with Norbert running around her feet.  She sits down on the floor near the front door and starts pulling out toys, but as soon as he chomps down on one, causing it to let out a high pitched squeak Tobin decides they should play outside.  She grabs his leash and a soccer ball, “Come on, lil man.  Let’s see what moves Bati taught you.”

They play in the front yard for half an hour before Tobin and Norbert both start tiring.  Tobin scoops him up and walks him into the house.  She walks down the hall and sees Alex’s door open a crack.  She softly knocks and after no response sticks her head in.  Alex’s head is turned away, but the soft, rhythmic breathing lets Tobin know she’s asleep.

“Why don’t you take a nap with your mama while I make dinner,” Tobin quietly tells the pup as she walks over.  She places him down on the edge of the bed and watches him walk around the new space, finding Alex’s hand resting on the pillow next to her head.  He licks it a few times then lies down, his head on her hand.

Tobin quietly backs out of the room and heads to the kitchen.  “Chinese sounds pretty good,” Tobin voices to herself, only making it to the couch.  She pulls out her phone and orders their meal and then curls up on the couch.

~~~

Alex wakes up to a fur ball in her face.  She softly smiles as she pulls away.  “Hey, buddy,” she yawns.  She kisses the top of his head and starts to climb out of bed.  She scoops him up and puts him on the floor before they both walk out to the living room to find Tobin flipping through her bible.

She looks up and places the book down, “Oh, good.  Food got here like five minutes ago.  It should still be pretty warm.”

Alex smiles as Tobin bends down to pet Norbert.  “What did you get?”

“Chinese,” Tobin responds.

“Cool.  Can you feed him?”

“Yeah,” Tobin stands up.  “Come on, Norbs.  I have some pretty tasty chicken kibbles that have your name all over it.” Norbert’s tail continues to wag, happy whenever he is included in the conversation.

~~~

After a quiet meal, Alex washes the dishes as Tobin takes Norbert outside.  Tobin comes in, releasing Norbert to his pile of toys while she hops up onto the counter next to the sink.

“So you want to talk?” Tobin asks as Alex rings out the sponge.

“I think I was just tired,” Alex replies embarrassed, not able to look at Tobin.  “Sorry for snapping at you.”

Tobin shrugs, “Don’t worry about it.”

“You sure?” Alex asks, finally looking at Tobin.

“Yeah,” Tobin smiles.  “We fight.  We apologize.  We make up.”  Tobin’s cheeks tinge red.  “We’re good.  I promise.”

They smile at each other as an insistent squeaking comes from the next room.  They both laugh.  “Did you still want to take him for a walk?” Alex asks.

“Sure.  Tire him out again.”

“Did you already take him for a walk?  Is that why he napped with me?”  

“No.  We played soccer for a while.  I thought you might want to snuggle with him.”

“It was nice, especially his butt in my face,” Alex quips.

They decide to drive to a park five minutes away and walk him around the perimeter.  Norbert wags his tail every time they pass another dog, sniffing at their legs.

“So what’s going on with you and Christen?” Alex asks fifteen minutes into their walk.

“Huh,” Tobin says, half paying attention and making a face as Norbert steps off to the side to go to the bathroom.  

“You and Press seemed close in Chicago,” Alex tries again.

“Oh,” Tobin pulls a bag out of her pocket. “Uh yeah.  She’s helping me with him.”

“I thought that we were doing that together,” Alex says sadly.

Tobin looks up from where she kneels, “We are.  Just she knows how to house train and stuff.  She gives good advice.”

Alex nods and they continue walking, Norbert’s tail high in the air until they come across a small chihuahua.  He quickly darts behind Tobin’s legs as the smaller dog starts barking at him.  Norbert lets out a high pitched bark but stays behind Tobin as they slowly pass.

Once Norbert’s leash is untangled from Tobin’s legs they move to a bench.  Alex picks him up and places him in between them.  “My poor little baby,” Alex coos as she rubs his head.

“Yeah.  There goes the play date we were going to have with Boss,” Tobin chuckles.  

“Oh, right,” Alex groans.  “Syd was looking forward to that, but,” she looks down at Norbert. “I won’t subject my baby boy to something so scary.”

~~~

The next morning Alex is sad to leave Norbert for practice.

“He’ll be here when we get back, Alex.  We’re going to be late if we don’t leave,” Tobin says from the open door.  Alex whimpers, giving Norbert one last kiss before getting up and walking through the door.  Tobin bends down, stopping him from running out after her. “We’ll be back in a few hours Norbs.  Hold down the fort.”  Tobin looks around, “and try not to pee everywhere.”  Tobin takes a toy and tosses it towards the kitchen and closes the door as he runs off after it.

~~~

“We should set up a camera in the house,” Alex tells Tobin as they walk into the the locker room.

“You mean like a security system?” Tobin questions.

“No.  To see him when we aren’t home.” Alex informs her.

“He’ll be fine Alex.  Now let’s go play some soccer and then get back home to him.” Tobin says, tossing her bag in her locker.

Alex nods and sits down at her locker, starting to change her shoes.  Allie walks over to her, already dressed.  “Take some shots with me after practice.”

“I can’t.  I need to get home and-,” Allie reaches into Alex’s locker, plucking her car keys off the hook.

“Tobin,” Allie calls, the midfielder looks up from tying her shoes.  Allie tosses the keys, Tobin instinctively reaches out to catch them.  “Alex and I are going to take some shots after practice. I’ll drive her home when we’re done.”

“Oh-kay,” Tobin draws out, putting the keys in her bag.

Allie turns back to Alex, “See you out there.”  She is gone before Alex can respond.

~~~

Alex walks over to Allie after Mark dismisses them for the morning.  “So what’s up?” she asks as Allie starts setting up some cones.

Allie looks over to her, “Well.  You want to explain yesterday?”

“What do you mean?”

“You, Tobin, … Christen,” Allie asks staring Alex down.

“She’s been going to Christen for help.  Norbert is _our_ dog and she… she just… I want us to work through raising him together.”

Allie sits down, wrapping her arms around her knees and motioning Alex to do the same.  

“If we need help then we can ask her or get a book,” Alex says, a frown forming on her face.

“And what about when we were in Chicago?” Allie questions.

“I’m just not used to her being so close with Press.  They sit next to each other on the bus now at camps.  That used to be us.  I just miss my best friend.”

Allie nods, “And that’s it?”

“Yeah,” Alex says, not even convincing herself of her answer.

Allie looks at her skeptically before she stands up, holding her hand out for Alex, “Well, let’s take some shots.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this came quick because I was procrastinating, but it will start being longer before updates.


	19. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so hopefully this gives you guys a little of what you were looking for.

“Hey,” Tobin says, peaking her head around the door frame into Alex’s room.  Norbert runs in and puts his two front paws up on the side of the bed, his signal for wanting to get up since he is still too small to make the large jump.  

“What’s up?” Alex asks as she leans over and picks him up.  

“I was going to head over to the field a little early, bring Norbs and show him around.”

“What about during practice?  We can’t really have him running around the field and I don’t think I really want him doing his _business_ on the turf,” she replies amused.

Tobin laughs, “Did you not see Christen’s text?”

Alex face hardens, “No.  Why?”

“She asked about doing a late lunch and she wants to meet our handsome little boy,” Tobin replies, oblivious to Alex’s change in demeanor, her focus being on Norbert.

“So what are we gonna do with him during practice?  We can’t just leave him in the car for two hours,” Alex questions.

“No.  Chicago is at the field now, practicing.  I figured they could watch him while we practice, take him to the park or something then we could all go out somewhere where we can eat outside.  He’ll probably be worn out by then so he’ll be calm while we eat.”

“I don’t know.  We have a game tomorrow,” Alex says , trying to getting them both out of it. “Should we really be fraternizing with the enemy.”

Tobin laughs, “They’re not the enemy and I’m sure they won’t be able to break us for our top secret game plan.”

Alex sits on her bed, watching Norbert scratch the top of his head with his back foot.

“Come on, Alex,” Tobin pleads.  “It’ll be fun to see them before they are so bummed out by their crushing defeat tomorrow.”

Alex can’t help the smile that comes over her face, “Fine, but only if you put him in his jersey so they know he’s a Thorns fan.”

Tobin nods eagerly and darts out of the room.  She comes running back in thirty seconds later, red jersey in hand.  “Come here, Norbie,” Tobin calls from the edge of the bed.  He looks up from where he lays curled into Alex’s side.  Tobin pats the bed dramatically and he stands up, tail wagging.

Tobin picks him up and slides the child sized jersey over his head.  As soon as Tobin sets him back down he starts chewing on the loose fabric around his leg.  He soon trips over the extra fabric near his back legs as he tries walking around the bed.  

Alex takes pity on him and drags him closer.  She pulls a hair tie off her wrist and then gathers up the extra red fabric and ties it to his side so you can still make out the white 0 on his back below his name.

“Just take it off of him before you give him to Christen.  He’ll get it dirty,” Alex says as Norbert lies back down on the empty side of the bed.

Tobin looks at her confused, “Are you not coming?”

“I’ll come after.  I just want to finish up some stuff before practice,” Alex replies.

“Okay?  I wasn’t going to leave yet.  I can wait,” Tobin offers.

“No.  I’ll just meet you there,” Alex insists.

“Alright,” Tobin concedes.  “Come on, Norbert.  We both need to go get ready for practice.”  She scoops him up and carries him out of Alex’s room.

~~~

Tobin walks through the stadium with Norbert, leading him towards the field.  She spots the Chicago keepers still out on the field and steps back off of the turf.  She leans against the tunnel wall and looks around the empty stadium.

“You spying on our keepers, Tobs?” a voice from deeper inside the tunnel asks.

Tobin turns to find Julie standing a few feet away.  The blonde’s eyes follow the leash in Tobin’s hand to Norbert who is pulling against it, trying to get to the blonde.  “And I see you brought along a guard dog.”

Tobin laughs, “Oh yeah, he’s so brave.  Unless I’m attacked by the mailman, a sneeze, or a chihuahua, then I’m on my own.”  Julie crouches down and starts rubbing him behind the ears.

“Well, sneezes can be pretty scary, spreading germs and stuff.  Right buddy.”  Julie looks up at Tobin, “He’s adorable, except for this,” she pulls on the jersey.

“Oh right,” Tobin leans down and starts carefully pulling the jersey off of Norbert.  “Don’t want you to burn it or make a large voodoo doll.

“I would never,” Julie says fake astonished.  Tobin throws the jersey onto her shoulder and stands up.  

“So there's a park like two blocks away,” Tobin reaches into her pocket, pulling out her car keys.  She hands them to Julie, “In case you want to go somewhere farther away.”

“We’ll probably just walk to the park and chill,” Julie says.

“Oh, and here,” Tobin shrugs the backpack off her shoulders.  “I put a bowl, a big bottle of water, some of his toys, and a bunch of bags in there.”  

“I think you’re fine, Tobin.  It’s only a few hours,” Julie says.

“Yeah, Tobin. I’ve had a dog or two,” Christen says coming around the corner.  “I think I can handle this adorable little guy.”  She kneels down and starts rubbing Norbert’s stomach.

Christen sits with her legs spread out and Norbert runs into them, putting his two front paws up on Christen’s chest and licking her face.

“Hey, Norbert, down,” Tobin pulls on the leash bringing all four paws back to the ground.

Christen laughs, “That’s the furthest I’ve gotten with anyone in long time.”

Julie starts cracking up while Tobin looks appalled.  Tobin glares at Christen, pulling Norbert into her chest.  “He’s three months old.  He’s pure and innocent.” Tobin looks down, staring into his brown eyes.  “Don’t let them corrupt you, okay?  Remember, Thorns, Thorns, Thorns.”

Norbert barks, as he has been trained to at the chant.  Tobin and Christen both stand and put Norbert down between them.  Tobin reluctantly hands the leash to Christen and leans down, putting his face between her hands.  “Mama and I love you so much.  We’ll see you after practice okay.  You’re going to have lots of fun with your two aunties.  I’ll even give you extra treats if you poop everywhere.”

Christen pushes at Tobin’s shoulder while Julie brings her finger up to the tip of her nose.  “Shot not.”

Tobin laughs, “Alright.  Well, Julie has all the stuff.  The directions to the park are in the bag, and if something happens just come back here.  I’ll call you when we’re done.”

“Tobin,” Christen reaches her hand out, putting it on Tobin’s arm, “Everything will be fine.”

Tobin nods, “I know.  I’ll see you guys later.”  She walks down the tunnel in the direction of their locker room.  Norbert looks up from where Julie is rubbing his head and starts to run after her.  He stops when the leash pulls him back and barks after his human.

Christen lets out a low whistle, “Come on, Norbs. Let’s go play.”

~~~

Alex follows Tobin out of the locker room, barely listening to her.  “...and we could get sandwiches and maybe some plain chicken for Norbie.”  Alex nods her head, looking down at her phone.

They exit the stadium to find Christen and Julie sitting on a bench talking, Norbert resting at their feet.  Tobin starts walking faster, causing Norbert to look up.  As soon as he sees Tobin he starts running towards her.  Christen lets go of the leash and lets him run to Tobin, immediately rolling on his back so she’ll scratch his stomach.

Alex smiles as Tobin tells him how much she missed him.  Julie offers Alex a hug which Alex happily accepts.  Christen then moves towards the fellow forward and Alex stiffens.  When Christen pulls away, she gives Alex a confused look, which goes unnoticed as Alex bends down to pet Norbert.

As they start their walk towards the cafe, Alex slides in right next to Tobin.  Their arms brush as they walk down the street, making small talk with the two Chicago players.  When they reach the cafe, Alex reaches into Tobin’s hand, holding on for a moment before taking the leash.  

“Why don’t you go order for me Tobs,” Alex says, “I’ll stay out here with him.”

Tobin shrugs, “Sure.”  She follows after Christen and Julie as Alex heads to a table.

A few minutes later the three come out, hands full.  Julie drops the water bottles she has cradled in her arm before sitting across from Alex.  

Tobin sits down next to Alex putting a tuna wrap in front of her, “Is this okay?  I wasn’t sure so I got chicken sandwich for myself and we can trade if you want to.”

Alex smiles.  “It looks great,” Alex returns as Christen slides a plate with a small piece of chicken between them.

Alex looks at the plate first then up towards Christen, confused, while Tobin takes the plate and starts cutting the chicken into small pieces.

“Did your sandwich come with chicken on the side?” Alex questions.

“No,” Tobin says looking underneath the table.  “This is for Norbie.”  She finishes cutting and then slides the plate under the table in front of their tired dog.  She then reaches into the backpack and pulls out a water bowl, filling it with water before placing it down next to the food.  Alex smiles as Norbert starts chomping on the strips of chicken.  

After lunch, Alex takes a very tired Norbert home while Tobin drives their two opponents back to their hotel.

~~~

The game starts with two fast goals.  In the sixth minute Julie collects the ball in her own box and starts to dribble it out towards the corner.  She kicks it too far in front of her where Christine intercepts it with a clean hit above Alyssa head and into the back of the net.

Less than three minutes later Tobin is setting up for a corner kick.  She drops her hand and sends the ball right to the top of the 6 yard box where Alex volleys it through all of the bodies and into the back of the net.

The final goal comes in the 60th minute.  Alex chases after a long ball.  She flicks it to her right as Julie slides in front of her, trying to kick it out.  Alex meets the ball and blasts it towards the goal.  Alyssa is able to get her fingertips on it but it continues its course into the back corner of the goal.

Alex smiles as Tobin gets to her first.  The midfielder tightly wraps her arms around Alex and squeezes as the rest of the team meets them, joining in on the hug.  Alex keeps her arm around Tobin’s shoulder as they walk back toward to other side of the field.  

They separate and Alex goes towards center field while Tobin stays on the wing.  Alex smirks at Christen as she jogs by.

~~~

The game ends 3-0 and Alex walks around shaking hands with Chicago players. She sees Tobin standing with Alyssa and Christen and heads over.  She pats Tobin’s back, her hand then sliding up to Tobin’s far shoulder as she joins the circle opposite Alyssa, keeping her arm around Tobin’s shoulders.  

“Hey, Alex,” Tobin offers with a smiles.

“Great game, Alex,” Alyssa says.

“Thanks, you too.”

“Yeah that second goal was pretty amazing,” Christen praises from next to her.

Alex shrugs but can’t keep the smirk off her face, “Just doing my job.”

Tobin looks up at Alex for a moment before drawing attention back to herself, “Yeah well we were just discussing maybe going to our place for food.  Either order or make something.  Norbert’s been alone for a while and Christen wants to see him again before they leave.”

“Oh,” Alex turns to Christen, “well if it’s what Presi wants then let’s do that.”

Alex drops her arm from Tobin’s shoulder and heads towards the fans for autographs

~~~

Once dinner is scarfed down they all retreat to the living room to continue talking.  Norbert scratches at the front door and Tobin stands up, “I got,” she says to Alex who had also started to stand.  Tobin clips his UNC leash on and closes the door behind them.

“Alex,” Christen asks from her spot on the couch next to Julie, “how's Norbert been doing with accidents in the house?

"He's been great," Alex snaps before walking into the kitchen.

"Oh-kay," Christen says, taken back.  The remaining people in the room look towards the kitchen confused, Allie finally restarting the conversation.

After another hour of talking everyone decides to call it a night.  Allie spins her keys in her hand as she waits for the Chicago players to bid their goodbyes before driving them back to their hotel

Christen approaches Allie, “Hey, can I ask you something?”

Allie nods and the two take a step away from the group towards the door.  “What’s up?”

“Is Alex mad at me?” Christen asks, her eyes trained on the forward.

Allie can’t help but smile.  “She is actually.”

“What?”  Christen asks, her head whipping towards Allie.  “Why? What did I do?”

“Oh, you didn’t _do_ anything.” Allie says, trying to see if Christen will catch on.

“Then why is she mad at me?  Does she think I’m taking her spot or something?”

“Something like that.” Allie sighs.  “She thinks you and Tobin are hooking up.”

“What?” Christen shrieks, causing the others in the room to turn in their direction.  Allie waves them off as Christen tries to comprehend what she was just told.  “But we’re not... Like at all... Tobin is still head over heels for her.  Half of the time she sends me pictures I’m not sure if Tobin took the picture cause Norbert’s in it or Alex.  She calls her Norbert’s mama.  I need to go straighten things out with Alex.”

Allie holds her arm out stopping Christen before she can walk away.  “No,” she commands. “Alex is only just starting to see that she might be feeling something for Tobin and the only reason she is doing that is because she thinks Tobin is moving on.  Alex was jealous the last time, too.  Then she kissed her.  The rest is history.”

“But if she’s already starting to realize she like’s Tobin then why can’t I tell her that Tobin still loves her?” Christen asks, rubbing at a bruise on her arm from the game.

“Because she doesn’t see it yet, at least not in a way that she can comprehend it,”  Allie explains.  “Right now in her mind she just thinks you’re taking away her best friend.  She doesn’t realize that your relationship with Tobin hasn’t really changed in the past year or two because she doesn’t remember it.  Just give it a month.  Let’s see where this goes.”

Christen lets out a groan. “Fine, but maybe tell her to ease up.  We’re on the same team after next week.”

Allie smiles, “Of course.  I’ll make sure she doesn’t start throwing punches.”  

Christen smiles in thanks,  “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”

Alyssa and Julie walk over to them, “Ready?”

Allie nods while Christen holds up one finger, “Just one more thing.”  She sends a wink towards Allie before she turns and walks back to the two hosts.  She wraps her arms tightly around Tobin’s neck, “Keep him out of trouble and don’t stop sending me pictures.”  She squeezes tight for a few more seconds as Tobin’s arms grip around her waist.  Christen finally releases her grip, long after the time that a normal hug would last and takes a step back.  

Christen takes a quick glance over at Alex and can almost feel the holes being burned into her body before she looks down to the small, black dog half asleep at their feet.  She kneels down and softly rubs his side, “Be good for your mommies.  I’ll see you soon.”

Christen stands up, now prepared for Alex, she gives her a quick hug, letting go before Alex can even react.  She reaches out and puts her hand on Tobin’s shoulder, smiling at her.  “I’ll see you guys in a week.”

Christen turns towards the front door where Allie is holding it open, biting her lip hard to keep from bursting.  Christen walks through the door and towards Allie’s car.  A second after Christen hears the door close Allie jumps on her back.

“Holy shit, Chris.  That was amazing.  I though Alex was going to kill you.”  Allie can’t keep the grin off of her face as she drives the three to their hotel, glancing at Christen in the rear view mirror to.  

~~~

Alex lays back on the hotel bed, tapping out a beat with her hands on her stomach.  Christine looks over at her from where she is sitting on her bed with a book.  “What’s wrong,” she asks the younger forward.  

Alex sighs, “I’m waiting for Servando to text me back about lunch tomorrow.”

“I didn’t know you still talked to him,” the Canadian says, flipping the page in her book.

Alex shrugs, “We don’t really, but It would be nice to see him and catch up.”  Alex phone buzzes on the table between the two beds.  She reaches over quickly, to pick it up.

**Serv: I can pick you up from the field when you guys finish your morning practice**

**Alex: Okay.  Our practice ends at 11:30 so I should be ready by noon.**

Alex puts her phone back down and looks up to see Christine staring at her.  “What?”

“Nothing,” the fellow forward responds, turning back to her book.  Alex continues staring for a few more moments before getting up and getting ready for bed.

~~~

“I’ll see you guys later,” Alex calls as she walks out of the locker room.

Tobin looks up from where she is pulling her shirt on, watching as the door closes.  She turns to Michelle next to her, “Where’s she going?”

The keeper shrugs and continues changing.  Tobin finishes changing and grabs her stuff, heading to the bus with her headphones on and beanie pulled down.  She opens the door leading to the parking lot and stops mid step as she sees Alex hugging Servando before getting into his car.  ‘ _Huh_.’  Servando moves around to the driver’s side and after a moment the car pulls away.

Tobin slowly makes her way to the bus and sits down in her usual seat.  She taps her foot, waiting as patiently as she can for the rest of the team to make their way out of the stadium but can’t seem to slow the fury of thoughts running through her mind.

After a few minutes, the person she is waiting for sits down in her seat in the row in front of her.  Tobin leans over the seat to the tall blonde, “Do you know where Alex went?”

Allie turns around, “I think she said something about lunch?”

Tobin nods, chewing on her lip for a moment before continuing. “Did she mention Servando?” Tobin asks nervously.

“No” Allie turns around in her seat, fully facing Tobin.  “I assumed it was with Ashlyn.  Is it with Serv?  Did she tell you it was with Serv?” Allie rapid fires.

“No.  I saw them getting into his car after they hugged.”  She takes a breath.  “She wasn’t lying when she told me she was over him right?” Tobin asks solemnly.

“She wouldn’t lie to you Tobin.  I know she wanted to talk to him though, fill in some blanks or something.  I think that’s all this is,” Allie tries.

Tobin nods, “Okay.  If you find out differently though can you tell me?  Even if it’s bad I’d rather know.”

Allie looks into Tobin’s eyes, seeing the sadness mixed with hope.  “Sure Tobs, but I really don’t think you need to worry.  I think she just wants to know more about their break up.”

Tobin gives Allie a small smile, “Thanks,” before sliding back into her seat.

~~~

Alex sits down across the table from Servando.  She smiles at him awkwardly then looks down at the menu.

“So do you want to talk about the weather we have here in Orlando for the next two hours or did you actually have a reason for inviting me to lunch?” Servando asks amused after setting his menu down.

Alex sets the menu down.  “We can talk about other things.”

“Okay,” Servando replies.  The waiter then comes over to takes their orders.

They sit in silence, each taking a long sip of their waters.  “So,” Servando starts, “how are you and Tobin doing?”

“We’re okay I guess,” Alex responds, scrunching her lips.

“What does that mean?”

“We were doing good for a while.  We had a few bumps here and there of one of us doing something that was too much for the other but we’re over that, I think. We were basically back to our friendship that I remember.”  Alex takes a sip of her drink.  

“And what’s wrong with that?” he asks.

“Nothing.  Until some bitch started trying to steal my best friend.”

Servando starts laughing, luckily keeping the water he sipped in his mouth.  “So someone is trying to steal your Tobin from you?”

“Yeah,” Alex groans.

“Do you want to explain?”

“Well, you know how we have a dog?” she asks, Servando nods. “Well, instead of talking to me about how to raise the dog, she keeps talking to Christen about it.”

“Press?  Your teammate that loves dogs?” Servando clarifies.

“Yeah, and they’re super close and she’s always hanging all over Tobin.  Whenever she’s around I feel like Tobin doesn’t care about me.”

“Oh,” Servando smiles, “I get it.”

“We might have been broken up for years but I still know that look,” Alex informs him.

“Exactly.  I know that look,” Servando says motioning to Alex.

“What look?” Alex asks, her face scrunching up.

“I just understand why you’re so mad,” he smirks.

“Good, at least someone does,” Alex sighs, “maybe you can explain to Allie why Press is annoying me so much.”

“What did Allie say?” Servando asks.

“She told me to go easy on her, but like I wasn’t going to go easy when we were playing each other.”

“So the only reason that you don’t like Christen is she’s _friends_ with Tobin?” Servando raises his eyebrow.

“Yeah?” Alex questions.

“And you just want to be friends?  Nothing more?”

Alex shrinks under his gaze.  Lucky their food is brought out to them, saving her from having to answer.

After a few bites, Servando looks to her, “You don’t have to answer, if you don’t want to.  I remember how stubborn you can be.”

“I’m not stubborn,” Alex insists.

Servando laughs and shrugs, “Of course not.  Just think about why you’re so jealous.”

“I’m not jealous. I’m just annoyed.”

He nods, chewing his food.  “Do you remember sophomore year?  That blonde in my business class.”

“Julie,” Alex sneers.

“Yes,” Servando laughs again, “Julie.  This look you have on your face right now,” he motions with his fork, “is similar.”

“We were dating,” Alex says, holding her arms out.  “I’m not dating Tobin.”

“But you were engaged.”

“So?”

“I’m just saying. Maybe it’s starting to come back to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?


	20. Operation Talex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the positive feedback. I never expected it to be this well supported and the fact that it is makes me want to write even more so Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy this chapter and those to come.

Tobin slowly walks up the aisle of the plane with Allie pushing at her.  Tobin plants her feet to keep from being pushed into the people in front of her. “Come on, Harry.  Walk faster.  I need to pee.”

“I can’t walk any faster than the people in front of me,” Tobin argues.  “You had three hours to pee on the plane.  You should have gone earlier.”

Allie glares down at her, but Tobin just laughs and turns back.  As soon as they disembark Allie pushes around the few people in her way and starts jogging down the hall.  Tobin comes to a stop next to a stunned Alex.

“Bathroom,” Tobin explains, looking around for their other tall blonde.  “Lindsey?”

“Same,” Alex laughs.

“Dumb blondes,” Tobin jokes as she slowly starts to walk in the direction of the bathroom.

Alex continues laughing as she starts to follow after her.  She matches pace with Tobin and turns to look at her as they avoid people walking in the opposite direction.  

“So I was wondering if you wanted to go out tomorrow?” Alex timidly asks.

“For your birthday?  Yeah.” Tobin smiles as they stop outside of the bathroom, turning slightly towards the wall to keep them hidden.  “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” Alex shrugs with a large smile, “somewhere casual.”  

Tobin nods as Allie and Lindsey walk out of the bathroom. “Cool.  We’ll take care of it,” Tobin responds as Allie and Lindsey join them.  Tobin turns towards their two new additions, “We gotta figure out where to take Alex tomorrow for her birthday.”

“Strip club,” Lindsey jokes as they start heading towards baggage claim.  She turns toward Alex, “Guys or girls?”

Tobin smacks at Lindsey, “Neither.”  She then looks toward Alex to make confirm, misjudging the disappointment on her face, “I’m guessing neither.”

Alex nods and looks down at her feet as Tobin and Lindsey start talking about bowling versus laser tag.  Allie slows down her pace to fall into step with Alex, “What’s up?  Why don’t you seem more excited?  We would never actually take you to a strip club.  It would end up all over social media the next day.  We would just hire you a stripper.”

Alex lets out a small smile.  “It’s not that, but please don’t.”

“Okay.  What’s wrong?”

Alex let’s out a long sigh, “Nothing.  I just wanted to try and hadn’t planned on it being a team thing.”

“Try what? Tobin just...Oh,” Allie’s eyes frantically go between Alex and Tobin, trying to figure out if she’s right.  “Oooh.  You and...”

Alex nods, her cheeks tinging red.

“But then she,” Allie motions to Lindsey.

Alex nods again.

“I’m sorry,”  Allie sincerely apologizes.

Alex fakes a smile, “It’s fine.  Not your fault.”

“Do you want me to talk to her?” Allie asks as they get to baggage claim.

Alex shakes her head, “She probably wouldn’t want to anyways.”

“Al, you know that’s not true.  She’s just oblivious,” Allie says.  “We’ll figure something out.  Okay?”  Alex nods her head sadly. “I promise,”  Allie swears

~~~

Alex walks to the after practice team huddle, stopping next to Tobin standing at the back.  Tobin looks over at her and quickly pushes her into the center of the growing circle.  Kelley and Meghan start singing, soon joined in by the entire team.  Alex starts bobbing her head, mimicking Morgan and Mallory’s dancing as they finish singing Happy Birthday.

Alex raises her hand in the air, unable to keep the huge smile off of her face.  She starts to turn when Kelley shoves at her shoulder, playfully.  She shakes her head as Kelley screams out.  Alex refocuses and looks for Tobin, finding her sitting on the bench, pulling her shoes off.  

Alex heads over to her, sitting down next to her.  “So where are we going tonight?”

Tobin looks at her confused.  “I thought you didn’t want to anymore?”

“Why?”

“I overheard Allie talking to Kelley,” Tobin answers.  “I figured you were tired from the travel and two-a-day practices or something.”

Alex shakes her head looking over to where Allie stands talking to Megan.  “I still want to go.  What did Allie say?” she asks, nervously looking at Tobin.

Tobin stuffs her socks and shoes into her bag, “Something about you not wanting to do a team thing.  I wasn’t really paying attention at first and then we had to go.”

“What if we just watch a movie instead?  I am a little tired,” Alex offers with a sigh of relief.

Tobin nods, “Sure.  I’ll spread the word.  You want to do it in your room?”

Alex groans internally at the thought of the whole team in her room, reorganizing her space.  “Can we do it in your room if Morgan doesn’t mind?”

“Yeah,” Tobin responds, standing up and shouldering her bag.

~~~

Tobin lays in the middle of her bed, splayed out like a starfish,with her face buried in the pillow.  There is a knock on the door, causing Tobin to whimper and motion towards the door with her right hand, not looking up.

“I hate you,” Morgan grumbles as she gets up, hitting Tobin with a pillow as she walks by.  The door opens and Tobin can hear Morgan talking.  “You’re early but come on in.  I could use someone to talk to since my lovely roommate is being a lazy ass.”

Tobin then hears Alex laugh, “When is she not?”  Tobin feels the bed dip and quickly moves her arm from covering the other side of the bed.  She turns her head so she can see Alex out of one eye.  

Alex smiles down at her and Tobin offers a weak smile back, mumbling “So what are we watching?”

“Well,” Alex grins, crossing her legs and leaning back against the pillows.  “I was thinking that since I don’t remember seeing it, and I really wanted to see it that we could watch the last Twilight movie.”

Tobin starts whimpering again, “I went to the premiere with you.  Team Edward wins.  Do I really need to watch it again.”

“Yes.  It’s my birthday.”  Alex grins down at her, patting her back.  “Emily already found it illegally so we’re watching it.”

Tobin glares at her, “This is why you did it in my room.  So I couldn’t leave.”  Alex shrugs and bobs her head, rubbing Tobin’s back.  Tobin lets out a light groan and her eyes flutter closed at Alex’s touch, her features softening.  Alex continues rubbing her hand over the midfielder’s back, watching the strands of hair that had fallen in her face rise and fall with each steady breath.

Alex stops rubbing her back, resulting in an upset groan from Tobin as she moves her hand up to tuck the loose hair behind Tobin’s ear. Tobin stops moping when Alex’s finger tips brush lightly against the skin behind her ear.  Alex’s fingers lightly travel from Tobin’s ear, down her neck, and return to rubbing her back.

Alex feels eyes on her and looks up to find Morgan staring at her, eyebrows raised. A moment later, Tobin shoots up, causing Alex to pull her arm back in alarm.  Both of them stare at Tobin, who is suddenly wide eyed and fully awake.  “I, uh, forgot something,” she tries to explain as she heads towards the door, “for after the movie… in Kelley’s room...I’ll go get it...and be right back.  K?”

Alex nods and watches Tobin rush out of the room barefoot.  Morgan clears her throat and Alex turns to face the young, smirking midfielder.

“What?” Alex questions.

Morgan shakes her head, turning back to her phone, “Nothing, just thought it was my turn for a backrub, but guess not.”

Alex chucks a pillow at her, laughing, “Shut up, Moby.”

~~~

Tobin leans back against the pillows, eyes glazed over as the final Twilight movie starts to play in the darkened room.

She looks around the room and smiles at half the team that is sitting in various positions on the beds or floors, most on their phones, but there for Alex nonetheless.  She feels Alex shift next to her and then her hair brushing against her bare arm as Alex settles right next to her.  

A few minutes later Tobin feel pressure against her arm.  She looks down to Alex’s head resting against her shoulder.  Tobin instinctively picks her arm up and carefully puts it around Alex’s shoulder.  Alex shifts closer, turning her body slightly into Tobin.  Her left hand comes up and rests on Tobin’s stomach, feeling the rings underneath her thumb.

Halfway through the movie, Alex closes her eyes and lets her arm fall across Tobin’s torso.  Tobin’s hand slides down to Alex’s back and her thumb rubs small circles against her spine.  Tobin looks back towards the television trying to refocus her attention and focus her mind on anything besides the woman in her arms.

Her eyes glaze over as she loses the fight in her mind and she lets her eyes close.  Her mind drifts to thinking about her and Alex cuddling like this on the couch like this numerous times, watching whatever is on.  Normally one or both of them falling asleep, sometimes waking up the other with long, passionate kisses leading to long, passionate-.

Tobin opens her eyes wide, taking in a deep breath, slowly feeling the air expanding her lungs.  She looks around the room, most faces lit up by the light of their cell phone, some looking right back at her.  Their eyes dart back to their phones when Tobin catches them.  She looks down at the woman in her arms, able to tell from the way her chest rises and falls evenly and the way that her bottom lip juts out ever so slightly, that she is asleep.  Tobin looks down to the gift bag sitting next to the bed that she had snuck into the room and lets out a soft sigh.

Half an hour later the credits start to roll and the team begins to rise from their various spots.  They all quietly leave after each giving Tobin a smile and a wave.  Allie walks over, whispering, “Need help getting her to her bed.”

Tobin shakes her head, “I’ll let her sleep till curfew then I’ll get her to bed.”  She looks down at Alex while Allie watches her face.

Allie reaches a hand out, resting on Tobin’s shoulder.  “You’re okay.  She loves you.”

Tobin solemnly nods, “I know.  Just not the way I love her.”

Allie restrains herself from correcting Tobin.  She walks out of the room after squeezing Tobin’s shoulder.  

~~~

Alex wakes up with a yawn.  ‘ _How did I get here_?’  She sees Ashlyn laying in the bed across the small dimly lit space of their hotel room.  She picks her phone up, checking the time before rolling out of bed.  Her foot brushes against something and she looks down.  She sees a pink bag with pink tissue paper sticking out of it.

Alex smiles and reaches down, bringing the bag to her lap.  She carefully removes the tissue paper so as not to wake Ashlyn before pulling out the canvas binder inside.  She moves the bag to the bed and places the binder on her lap, a black paw print on the front cover.  

Alex opens it, finding a handwritten note to her taped to the first page.

_Dear Alex/Mommy,_

_Happy 27th birthday!_

_The past year has been crazy but I’m glad I got to experience it with you.  I can’t wait to see what amazing things are going to happen for you this year and every year after.  Alex, you are inspirational to so many, including me.  You came back after something that I thought was career ending. You can do anything you set your mind to and I’m so lucky I get to witness it._

_You are phenomenal and I hope your birthday is as incredible as you are. I can never fully express in words how much you mean to me.  I will always be there for you, cheering you on in whatever direction you choose to go.  You’re my best friend and no matter what happens that will never change._

_I don’t think there is anything I could do to top you getting Norbert so I hope this suffices.   He was one of the best things I have ever received and I wish I could do the same for you.  This is just a little something to document his first month as part of our little family.  Norbert and I are so lucky to have you and nothing we could give you is worth what you deserve. I hope this is a start._

_We love you,_

_Tobin and Norbert (he licked the page to show you his love)_

Alex rereads the note before turning the page to find two photos blown up to fill most of the page.  Both pictures are of Norbert from when Alex first had picked him up from the pound with Allie, one of just Norbert and one of her holding him as he licks at her face.  ‘ _Allie_.’  She turns the next two pages, finding a few pictures Michelle had sent her from his first week while they were away at camp. She slowly lets her eyes wander over each picture, her smile growing by the second.  She then gets to photos from after she had surprised Tobin with him.  Most of the photos are candid that Alex didn’t even know existed with her and Norbert but there are a few of the three of them, just Norbert, and Tobin with Norbert.

~~~

Ashlyn wakes up a half hour later to Alex sitting  on the side of her bed, her fingers tracing over something in her lap.  Ashlyn yawns and sits up, “What are you doing?”

Alex looks up, the huge smile on her face now visible to Ashlyn. She turns the book in her lap around and holds it up for Ashlyn, “Tobin got me a baby book for Norbert.”

Ashlyn notices the picture where Alex just staring and smirks.  It is a photo of Tobin curled up in bed with Norbert on the pillow next to her face.  “Cute.”  

Ashlyn heads to the bathroom while Alex starts to flip through the book again.

~~~

Tobin sits at breakfast laughing as Crystal has Julie cut her omelet.  Once Julie finishes, she puts the silverware down and turns back to her own meal.  Crystal puts her hands on her hips, looking appalled at the blonde.  “Um, excuse me.  How is the food supposed to get to my mouth.”

“Ha, ha, no,” Julie counters.  “You can wear that plastic crown all you want.  I’m still not going to feed you.  You were already pushing it with me cutting your food.”

Tobin watches Crystal pout at Julie as two familiar arms wrap around her shoulders and a nose burrows into her neck.  Tobin grips the arms around her neck.  “Thank you,” Alex murmurs, squeezing tighter before standing up and fixing her hair.  “Happy birthday, Crys,” she says across the table.

“Thanks, Al,” Crystal smiles before staring at Julie as she makes a dramatic showing of picking up her own fork and taking a bite.

Tobin laughs at the two before she turns around and sees Alex heading towards the food.  She watches her joke around with Ashlyn for a few seconds before turning back around.

~~~

“Alex,” Kelley whines.  “I’m hungry and want to go see the fireworks.”

“Calm down ya big baby,” Alex quips, stuffing her phone and wallet into her purse.  “You can see the pretty fireworks and then we’ll tuck you into bed.”

Alex grabs the car keys and walks with Kelley out of her room.  After they knock on Allie’s door, Alex turns to Kelley, “So why did you insist on this meal?”

“We have things to discuss,” Kelley states.  The door opens, Allie walks out, and the three start walking to the elevator.

“What do we have to talk about?” Alex asks.

Kelley looks around, making sure they’re alone, “We need to work out a plan.”

“For what,” Alex asks, punching the button.

“Operation Talex.” Kelley says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Allie slaps at Kelley’s arm as the elevator doors ding open.  “Operation what?” Alex questions as they get into the elevator.  

Kelley smirks pretending to think it over for a few moments, “You asked Tobin out and she made it into a team bonding thing.  You want her.  You want her baaaad.”

Alex blushes as they step out, “No, I don’t.”

Allie raises an eyebrow at Alex, “Al, come on.  You fell asleep on her.”

Alex groans, “I don’t really understand what I’m feeling, but if this is what happened last time then maybe it should happen again.”

They walk out of the hotel, towards the car, Alex in the middle.  “Well you know, last time, you actually just walked up to Tobin and kissed her.  That might be a little more direct.  I don’t think she will misinterpret anything if tongue is involved.” Kelley smirks as she climbs into the back row.

Alex pulls out of the parking lot and they sit quiet for a few minutes.  “Don’t you need to be snapchatting, Kel?” Allie asks to break the silence.

“Oh shit, right.  Maybe we can ask them for ideas,” Kelley says as she reaches into her bag for her phone.

“No,” Alex and Allie reply simultaneously.  

“You two are no fun,” Kelley pouts.

~~~

Kelley slides her phone into her pocket and looks at Alex as they all rise from the table, “So we’re all set.  You know what you’re going to do?”

Alex nods, “It’s not that complicated, we could have figured this out in five minutes in my room.”

Kelley shrugs, “Maybe but this was so much more fun.  We’re like ninjas.”

Allie scrunches her face up, “Eh, not exactly the same thing.  I don’t think the plan is to attack Tobin in the dark of the night.”

Kelley snickers, “I mean it’s not step one but it’s bound to happen.”

“Ew, ew, ew,” Allie slaps at Kelley’s arm, “I don’t need those images coming back in my head.”

Alex turns to Allie, cheeks pink, “What do you mean?”

They climb into the car.  Allie turns to Alex as she puts her seatbelt on.  “You’re…,” Allie’s eyes search for the right word, “...adventurous and Tobin can’t say no to you.  So I’ve walked in on you a few too many times.  Well anything more than zero is too much, but I just really need you guys to learn how to use a lock or at least a space with doors.”

~~~

Alex walks into breakfast the next morning, heading towards an already full table.  She puts her hand down onto Christen’s shoulder, “Can we talk?”

After a nod, Alex leads them out of the room, and to some couches in the lobby.  “Look, Presi,” Alex starts looking down at her hands.  “I’m sorry.”

Christen looks at Alex, with a soft smile, “Alex, you don-”

“No,” Alex states, looking up at Christen.  “I do.  I’ve kinda been a bitch to you.”

Christen reaches her hand out, resting it on Alex’s knee.  “You don’t need to explain.  Allie explained everything.”

“So you know?” Alex blushes.

“Not at first,” Christen smiles.  “I thought you were going to kill me for a bit and I wasn’t sure why,  but when we were at your house I asked Allie about it and she explained that this was kinda similar to what happened before and that’s when I decided to help.”

“Help?” Alex asks.

“I might have given her a little longer of a hug that night, texted her a little more frequently, and I made a few comments on instagram that I wouldn’t have otherwise.  It was all to help you understand your feelings though.  I was trying to bring you guys closer.  I would never do anything to come between you two.  You guys were perfect together.”

“Well, I hated you for that, especially the one from Kling’s pool,” Alex admits.

Christen chuckles, “Not going to say I didn’t have fun doing it.  Allie helped with that one though.  She texted me as soon as she took the picture and said I needed to comment on it before Tobin had even posted it.”

“Well commenting on how much you like her bikini was effective,” Alex smirks, biting her lip. “It was a nice bikini.”

Christen grins at the look on Alex’s face. “I thought it was a little less crass than nice abs, which was what Allie suggested I write.”

Alex laughs, “Yeah, good choice.  I might have hopped on a plane to Chicago and killed you.”

“Well then I made the right choice,” Christen returns.

Alex stands up followed by Christen taking a step towards her fellow forward and engulfing her in a hug.  Christen loosely wraps her arms around Alex’s waist.  “Thank you,” Alex softly says before they break apart and head back.

They reach the doors to the conference room at the same time as Tobin.  The midfielder looks between the two and her face starts to contort.  “What’s going on?  You both look mysteriously suspicious.  I don’t trust it.”

“We were just talking about you,” Christen says, opening the door.

“Yeah,” Alex smiles, “we were talking about how nice your abs are.”

Tobin’s face starts to heat up as she squints her eyes at the two of them. “You two suck and now I really don’t trust you.  You’re definitely up to something.”

Tobin walks through the open door and Alex and Christen share a look, bursting out laughing as they walk back into the room.

“I hate both of you,” Tobin calls from the buffet, causing Alex and Christen to laugh even harder.

~~~

Alex walks with Tobin into the team’s conference room.  “Are you seriously not going to wear shoes for this?” Alex asks rhetorically, already knowing the answer. “Or pants without huge holes in them.”

Tobin shrugs and walks to the stool in front of the green screen, “Sorry I’m late.  Couldn’t find any of my snapbacks.”

Alex leans over to Ashlyn, who is standing at the back of the room, “Yeah, that’s because I hid them all.”

Ashlyn snickers as the director starts explaining to Tobin what she needs to do.  Ashlyn turns to Alex, “Do you know what she’s doing her story on?”

Alex shakes her head, “Just that it’s about a soccer field.”

The director calls for quiet and then calls action.  “I’m Tobin Heath and this is Field of Dreams.”  

Ashlyn leans over whispering into Alex’s , “If you build it...they will come.”

“Okay, now, Tobin,” the director says from next to the camera, “tell me what the story is about.”

“This is a story about the only other job I’ve had.  I’m not just a professional soccer player.  I actually mowed lawns before.”

Ashlyn starts loudly laughing and Alex covers her mouth with her hand keeping her laugh tamed.  The director turns around in his chair to glare at Ashlyn who is still wildly shaking.  “You can leave,” he calls to her, pointing towards the door.

Alex pushes Ashlyn towards the door before quietly moving closer to the set.  Alex is able to watch silently as Tobin passionately talks about the soccer field being her happy place, that is until Tobin starts talking about the tractors.  

“I went around and I named all the different tractors an’ the guys thought it was hilarious because they were like of course a chick would come in and name all the tractors.”  Alex bites her fist to keep from laughing, she finally loses it when Tobin says, “My favorite tractor was Frank.”  

The director turns in his chair, “Out.  You’re not needed for two hours.”

Alex pouts but heads out the door, loudly muttering, “But I wanted to know more about Frank.”  The laugh she hears as she exits the room lets her know her comment was heard.

~~~

Tobin walks out ten minute later to see Alex standing with Julie and Allie.  Alex turns, “How come you never told me about Frank?”

“I did, just after we had been dating,” Tobin replies.

Julie leans over to Allie, “Who’s Frank?”

Allie shrugs, “I don’t think it’s an ex.  Unless it’s from like first grade.”

Tobin shakes her head at both of them and turns to Alex, “So did you figure out what you were going to do?”

Alex nods, “It took a while but I finally decided.  Alex Morgan,” she holds her hands out like she is about to serve a volleyball, “Tetherball Queen.”

“You’re going to talk about making eight year old boys cry,” Tobin smiles, “typical.”

~~~

Tobin cheers from the box when Crystal scores the lone goal of the game but her eyes mostly track Alex around the field until she is subbed off the field.

Morgan turns to Tobin a few minutes before the game is over.  “So did you and Alex figure out what you’re doing between now and Costa Rica.”

“Yeah,” Tobin nods, “We’re going to go to L.A. with everyone.  Alex actually invited me to stay with them while we’re there.  She said it was because of Norbert but I’ll take whatever I can get. Her parents are going to watch Norbert while we’re in Rio and they’re cool with having him a bit longer.  I’m a little worried about the cats terrorizing him but hopefully it will toughen him up a bit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... what did you think?  
> Also, hopefully this will put the Preath stuff to rest. I'm not against Preath just it doesn't fit in this story.


	21. Second First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been feeling pretty unmotivated but hopefully it will start flowing again soon

Alex shrieks and runs out of the kitchen, almost tripping over Norbert.  He jumps up from his spot in the doorway and follows after her.  “Tobin. Tobin. Tobin,” Alex calls out, sliding on her socks into Tobin’s room and falling onto the bed.

Tobin lifts her head up from the pillow. “Wha-,” she grumbles, one eye open.

Alex grips Tobin’s leg through the comforter, shaking it.  “Jill called.  I made the team.  I’m going to Rio.”

Tobin smiles, still half asleep, letting her head fall back down to pillow.  “See. I told you. Nutin’ to worry about.”

“Jill also wanted to make sure you were alive since you missed her call,” Alex smirks.  

Tobin blindly reaches out, slapping at the bedside table until her hand finds the cell phone.  Tobin brings it towards her face, squinting at the screen, “Oh, someone called me, and Allie made the team.”  Tobin drops the phone onto the bed and tucks her arm into her chest,  “Did Jill tell you if I made it?”

“You’re seriously not going to call her back?”

Tobin groans and pouts, “I’m tired.  Five more minutes.”  Alex’s eyes drift to her slightly chapped lips.  After a minute, Tobin opens one eye and finds Alex staring at her.  “What?”

Alex blinks and looks back up into Tobin’s eye.  “I guess you have a little while since Jill still is calling people before you need to call her back.”

Tobin blindly reaches towards Alex, finding her arm and pulling her down.  “Shh,” she breaths, mostly back to sleep already, “sleep.”

Alex smiles and rolls onto her side, watching Tobin drift back to sleep.  She hears a quiet bark and rolls over to pick up Norbert, placing him on the bed.  He jumps over Alex and starts licking Tobin’s hand.  Tobin starts to reach for him as he runs to the end of the bed, bravely jumping off.  Tobin’s arm keeps patting around the bed, eventually finding Alex’s arm.  She tightens her grip and pulls on it.  Alex lets Tobin guide her closer.  Tobin releases her grip and wiggles closer, her arm sliding around Alex’s waist.  She nuzzles into Alex’s shoulder and Alex can hear her take in a deep breath.  She looks down at Tobin’s hand gripping the front of her shirt.  She lets her eyes close slowly and relaxes into Tobin’s embrace.  

Alex wakes up to something buzzing underneath her.   She slowly rises and looks down to see what it is.  Tobin’s phone.  She quickly picks it up and answers the call when she see’s Jill’s name and starts to shake Tobin.

“Hey, Jill. Hold on.  She’s sleeping.”  Alex moves the phone away from her face, “Tobin wake up.”

“I’m up,” Tobin grumbles, face buried in the pillow.

“Jill wants to talk to you,” Alex informs her.

Tobin holds out her hand, not opening her eyes.  Alex places the phone into the waiting hand.

“Yo,” Tobin yawns, phone upside down against her face.  Alex shakes her head and reaches over.  She slides the phone out of Tobin’s grip and turns it around before resting it back on Tobin’s face.  Alex catches Tobin’s sleepy filled eyes watching her as she talks to Jill.  The forward smiles and gives Tobin a thumbs up before swinging her legs off of the bed and leaving the midfielder’s room.

~~~

“Hey, Norbie,” Tobin greets as she opens up the crate.  “How was your first plane ride?”  He quickly steps out sniffing her waiting hand and barks at her.  “That bad, huh?  I’m sorry, little guy.”  Alex finishes signing the paperwork while Tobin hooks him up to a leash.   

“Tobin,” Alex says, walking to her and leaning down to pet Norbert.  “There’s a little bit of grass out the door and to the left for him to go to the bathroom.  We’ll start taking this stuff to the car.”

Tobin looks to Alex’s parents trying to load their suitcases onto a cart.  “If you want to leave me with a bag or something-”

Alex shakes her head.  “We’re good.  Just meet us at the car.”  Tobin nods and moves to the door with Norbert leading the way.  Alex walks back to her parents with the crate.  “This is going to be a tight fit.”  

Her father nods, “Yeah, but it should still fit and if not, I’d pay to take a cab home.”  He takes a step to Alex, hugging her again.  “I’m just so glad to see you again, and I’m so proud of you.”  

Alex pats her dad’s back with a smile.  “Thanks, Dad.”

“Yes, yes, yes.  We love you so much, sweetheart, but it’s late. Come on,” Pam says as she starts pushing the cart towards the glass doors.  Mike follows after her with the two suitcases that didn’t fit.  Alex picks up the crate again and catches up with her parents.  Pam turns to Alex as they wait to cross the street, “So, sweetie.  How are you and Tobin doing?  You two seem happy.”

“We are. I’m not, uh, sure where we stand though.” Alex looks down at the top of the crate.

“Wait,” Pam throws her arm out, grabbing Alex’s shoulder and fully turns her body to face Alex.  “I just meant as friends.  Are you two back together?”

Alex sighs, “No.  I just said I don’t know.”

“Let’s walk, you can interrogate her later,” Mike says, walking out into the street.

“She’s a professional athlete.  She can multitask,” Pam says, following after.  “So Alex, explain.”

“We’re… closer but like we’re not dating,” Alex explains, mumbling, “yet.”,

“But you want to be,” Pam states as they make it to the parking structure.  Alex nods.  “Wait, does that mean Tobin doesn’t want that?”

“No,” Alex says.  “Well, I don’t actually know. I hope she does.   We haven’t talked about it.”

They make it to the car and start loading the stuff in. “Tobin still loves you, sweetie.”

Alex looks to her dad surprised, “How do you know?”

He grunts as he picks up the duffle bag full of Norbert’s stuff.  “A father always knows.  The way she looks at you hasn’t changed in the past three years.  Also, I still talk to her, and I can just tell.”

“What?” Pam asks.  “You still talk to her and I didn’t know?”

“Of course,” he says, “My daughter doesn’t honestly tell me how she’s doing, so I have to find out other ways.”

“So you’re checking up on me?” Alex asks as he closes the trunk.

“We talk about things other than you.  She is my future daughter in law to be,” he smirks at Alex.  “Well, hopefully.”

A bark interrupts their conversation.  They turn to see Tobin walking over with Norbert.  “We peed and pooped.”

“Oh,” Alex jokes, “you both did?”

Tobin grins, “Like mother, like son.”

~~~

They pull up to the house and unload all of the luggage.  Tobin drags one of Alex’s bags into her childhood room, looking around the room.  “Still haven’t taken down your Elvis pictures,” Tobin jokes.

“He’s hot,” Alex states simply starting to pull out clothes from her bag.

Tobin scoffs, “I’m not sure I agree with that.  I was always fearful of him rising from the dead and stealing you from me.”

Alex looks between Tobin and the posters, shrugging her shoulders, “Yeah, I can see that.  He’d be hard to say no to.”

“Okay,” Tobin laughs, taking a backward step out of the door.  “I’ll leave you two alone to get reacquainted.”

Alex picks up a pair of shorts from her open suitcase and throws it at Tobin who easily catches it.  “Shut up.”

Alex can hear the laugh as Tobin heads to a guest room.

~~~

Alex taps impatiently at the steering wheel, waiting for Tobin.  She finally sees her run out, jumping into the car.  “Sorry.  Let’s go.”

Alex backs out of the driveway, “I’m telling Dawn this was your fault.”

“Of course you are,” Tobin smirks, looking down at her phone.  

Alex drives them to the practice field where they are meeting the rest of their teammates that are training in LA with Dawn.  They get to the field and head to where their teammates sit getting ready.”

Alex plops down next to Allie while Tobin sits down next to Christen.  Allie quickly leans over to Alex, excitedly asking, “What the fuck happened?”

Alex turns to her confused, “What do you mean?”

Allie looks to Tobin then back to Alex, whispering, “Did you two hook up already? At your parents house?”

“What? No?” Alex stammers as she ties her shoes.

“Then why is she wearing your shorts?”

Alex turns and stares at Tobin, eyes easily noticing the 13 printed on her leg.  “Tobin,” she calls.

Tobin and Christen turn to Alex, “Yeah.”

“Why are you wearing my shorts?” Alex asks.  

“Wha-,” Tobin looks down.  “Oh, right.  I didn’t know where I packed my shorts and I was running late and you threw these at me yesterday.”

Alex shakes her head.  “You could have asked ya know.”

“You were already in the car and I didn’t think me running out in my underwear to ask you would have been time productive.” Tobin responds, looking around for a ball as she finishes getting ready.  “I’ll wash them I promise,” she says as she starts juggling.

Alex bites her lip and Allie nudges her.  “Shut up,” Alex grumbles as Dawn heads over to them clapping her hands.

~~~

Tobin leans down, unclipping Norbert’s leash so he can run off into the house.  Tobin follows after him slowly into the kitchen.  Alex is sitting on her computer, headphones in, turned away from Tobin.  Tobin smirks as she creeps over towards Alex, picking up Norbert who is standing at his water bowl.  “Let’s scare your mommy with kisses okay,” she whispers as he tries to wriggles out of her arms.

Alex squeals as Norbert starts licking her face with his cold, wet tongue.  “Oh my god.  Tobin.” Alex pulls away from the wiggling puppy, her earbuds falling out.  “You just gave me a heart attack.”

Tobin pushes her cheek next to Norbert’s.  “We just wanted to tell you we’re home.”

“Well, I’m happy one of you is home,” Alex smirks.  She stands up, walking towards them, her eyes locked on Tobin’s.  She stops half a foot away and smiles softly at Tobin, softly whispering, “Can you guess which one?”

Tobin gulps. “Norbert,” she stutters.  

Alex reaches out, her hand resting on Tobin’s cheek.  After two soft strokes of her thumb Alex nods, “Yep.”  She quickly grabs Norbert out of Tobin’s hands.  “Who’s my little baby boy?  Did you have a nice walk?”  Alex starts walking towards the back door, setting Norbert on the ground and letting him run out into the yard.

Tobin lets out the breath she was holding as she starts to follow Alex, her eyes landing on Alex’s computer screen.  She sees a cartoon playing then Alyssa’s face overlapping the cartoon.  “You watched the videos without me,” Tobin exclaims to Alex who’s still standing in the doorway.

“Sorry,” Alex says, not turning around.  “Some of them were kinda funny.”

“Hmmf.  I’ll just watch them by myself then and you’re not invited.” Tobin huffs, stomping up the stairs dramatically to her room.

Alex laughs, picking up the squishy soccer ball Tobin uses to play with Norbert.  She kicks it around with Norbert nipping at her feet.  After almost thirty minutes Alex heads back inside with Norbert who curls up next to an air vent on the cool tile.

Alex heads up the stairs to Tobin’s room, seeing the door wide open.  Tobin is sitting cross legged down on the bed, computer in front of her.  Alex can hear Ali’s voice coming out of the speakers.  

Alex walks in and Tobin’s head snaps up.  “Oh, so you want to watch this with me now?” Tobin questions sarcastically.

Christen’s voice replaces Ali’s as Alex pushes Tobin over from the middle of the bed and climbs onto the bed next to her.  “We can watch my cartoon debut.”

“Not actually your debut.  You did The Simpsons, but as far as you can remember, sure.”

“Oh.  Well still.  This one is all about me.”

Tobin shakes her head and looks down at her computer screen.  She starts laughing at cartoon Christen picking flowers and doing cartwheels.  Alex looks over to Tobin, biting her lip nervously as she watches the midfielder’s face as she watches the rest of Christen’s video.  

Tobin pauses the video as the intro for Alex’s starts playing.  “Should I be worried?  Any felonies you never told me about.”

Alex shoves Tobin, reaching over and pressing play.  

Alex appears on the screen, sitting on the same wooden stool as everyone else in front of a cartoon playground.  “Hi I’m Alex Morgan and I am the Tetherball Queen.”  The playground moves into focus as Alex disappears from the screen.  A young cartoon version of Alex then stands looking at the camera as Alex starts to speak again.  “When I was in elementary school the big thing to do on Mondays was to play tetherball.  There would be a line of like 10 to 20 second graders waiting to play.”  A cartoon line of kids is shown behind a tetherball pole.  “So how it worked was the winner got to stay on and it would go through the line trying to beat the person.  Every Monday as soon as we were allowed to go outside I would sprint to the tetherball pole.”  Alex’s cartoon sprints out of a building, knocking people over to get to the pole first.  “So that normally meant I got there first and would play the first game.  I won almost every game.  The Monday before Thanksgiving we decided it was going to be a championship.  Me versus the other best tetherball player in the second grade.  Winner take all kind of thing.  So the whole week before I practiced by myself while everyone else was playing kickball or soccer or whatever.

“That Monday I got to the pole first like usual and was waiting for Aaron.  A circle started forming around me as I was getting really excited.  It was decided that we would do a best two out of three.  We rock, paper, scissored to see who gets the ball first and he won.  Tetherball games normally only take a minute but this one went on for almost five minute with each of us almost winning.  He eventually won the first game so for the next game I get to serve the ball.  I’m holding it in my hand and I decided to try and trick him by serving it up from a lower position.  It was something i had practiced the week before.  I punched at the ball and it curved around the pole.  It hits Aaron right in the face, sending him backwards.  There is blood coming out of his nose and he starts crying.  A teacher quickly came over and took him to the nurse but not before telling us we can’t play tetherball anymore.  It was decided that I won since he had to forfeit and we weren’t allowed to have a rematch.  The tetherball pole is no longer there and I am the reigning tetherball champion of Diamond Bar Elementary.  It is still one of my greatest achievements outside of soccer.”

The next video starts to play and Tobin pauses it again.  “Wow.  You never told me you practiced. Though I guess that doesn’t really surprise me based on the fact that I know you did the same thing with monopoly.”

“You’re just jealous,” Alex mopes.

Tobin snickers, “Totally jealous that you broke some kid’s nose.”

“I can break yours.  Want to get in goal at practice later?”

“Hmm,” Tobin taps her chin, pretending to think about it.  “As good as I look in the mask I think I’ll pass.”  Alex shrugs and presses play, leaning back into the pillows to watch the remaining videos.

~~~

Alex walks with Tobin to her car after their last unofficial practice before heading to camp.  They climb in and Alex turns the ac on high.

“Do you maybe want to go out tonight?” she asks while backing out of the parking space.

Tobin looks up from her phone and over at her, “Yeah sure.  Where are we going?”

“To dinner,” Alex responds.

“Oh, that was super descriptive,” Tobin quips.

“It’s a surprise.  Just don’t wear sweatpants,” Alex smiles as she starts the drive back to her childhood home.  “We can leave after we shower.”

~~~

Tobin flops down on the bed after her shower, still wrapped in a towel, grabbing her phone.

**Tobin: Where are we going tonight?**

She rolls off the bed and starts looking through her clothes.  She pulls on a pair of black, ripped up jeans as her phone buzzes.

**Harry: I don’t know.  Where do you want to go?**

**Tobin: For dinner. Did she not tell you either?**

**Harry: I have no idea.  I wasn’t invited**

**Tobin: Oh.  She probably forgot.  Ask someone else.  They probably know.  I’ll see you there**

Tobin pulls a white vneck over hear head.

**Harry: I don’t think so.  Dress nice**

Tobin looks down at her phone confused.  She walks out of her room and knocks on Alex’s closed door.

“Yeah,” Alex calls, “I’m getting dressed.”

“You forgot to invite Allie,” Tobin calls back through the door.

“No, I didn’t.  I never said she was coming.  It’s just us.”  Tobin furrows her brow.  “I’ll be out in ten minutes.  Are you ready?”

“I just need to put shoes on,” Tobin responds.

“Okay,” Tobin hears through the door before a hairdryer is turned on.  Tobin rakes her hand through her damp hair and heads back to put her shoes on.

Ten minutes later Tobin is sitting in the kitchen with Alex’s parents as they finish eating their dinner.  Tobin jokes with them about Norbert and the Morgan’s three cats for a few more minutes until she hears heels clicking on the tile behind her.  She turns, her jaw dropping slightly as her eyes slowly take in Alex’s appearance.  A short, sparkling, black dress, her hair lightly curled over her left shoulder, a necklace resting against her exposed chest and tall silver heels.  Tobin bites her lip, looking up at Alex.

“Well,” Alex says, trying to ignore the look in Tobin’s eyes, “you ready?”  Tobin turns back to the table to stand up, catching the smirks on both Pam’s and Mike’s faces.

“Yeah,” Tobin stutters as she walks to Alex, looking down at her t-shirt and jeans.  “Should I... change?”

“No,” Alex softly says, looking down into Tobin’s eyes from where she hovers a few inches above her, “you look great.”

“Look at me you two,” Pam instructs.  “I want a picture of my two future Olympians.”

“Mom,” Alex groans, “we’ve both already been to the Olympics.”

“We’ll I still want a picture, so smile,” Pam insists.

Alex turns to face her mom fully. “Sorry,” she whispers to Tobin.  Tobin’s only response is snaking her arm around Alex’s back.  Alex’s face lights up as she puts her arm around Tobin’s shoulder.

“Okay, perfect,” Pam says, putting her phone down.  “Now have fun and don’t stay out too late.”

“Yes, Mom,” Tobin sasses.

Pam glares, “You better get going before I give you a curfew.”

Alex turns Tobin around towards the door, “Bye.  We’ll see you tonight or tomorrow morning.”  Tobin lets Alex lead her to the car.

“You still haven’t explained where we’re going?” Tobin complains.

Alex stands at the front of her car, facing Tobin.  Alex chews on the inside of her cheek.  She reaches out, grabbing Tobin’s arm just below her elbow.  She lets her hand slide down into Tobin’s.  She starts playing with Tobin’s fingers.  “It’s a surprise,” Alex says softly.

Tobin looks down at their hands then back up to Alex, “Uh, Alex? Are you okay?”

Alex drops Tobin’s hand, letting her own swing at her side. “Sorry.  I don’t really know how to do this.”

“Do what?” Tobin asks softly.

Alex runs her hand through her hair. “Take you out,” she mumbles.

Tobin looks up at her with a blank face.  “Oh, like… like um…”

“Like on a date,” Alex quietly whispers, rubbing her arm.

“Alex,” Tobin questions. “Are you sure?”

Alex looks to Tobin, her smile dropping.  She nods.  “Yes.  I want to take you out.  I know it took some time for me to get used to the idea of us dating but I think get it now.  I want to try this.”

Tobin flashes a smile, trying to relax Alex and herself. “Cool. Let’s go.”

~~~

Tobin walks into the restaurant behind Alex.  “Table for two, under Morgan.”

The hostess finds their reservation, “Of course.  Right this way.”

Alex turns to Tobin smiling before following the hostess.  They sit down at their table in the back and look at each other.  They both smile at each other until they are interrupted by their waitress putting waters down in front of them.  They thank her and start looking at their menus.

Tobin’s arms rest on the table, framing her menu as she looks at her options.  Alex looks at the hands in front of her.  She closes her menu and takes a sip of water.  Tobin’s fingers tap at the table while she mutters to herself.  “What do I want?”  Alex tentatively reaches her hand out, cupping Tobin’s and stilling the tapping.

Tobin looks up, meeting Alex’s eyes, a soft smile forming on her face.  “Sorry.”

Alex gives a small shake of her head and squeezes Tobin’s hand lightly, not letting go.  Their waitress comes back over, “Are we ready to order?”

Alex looks up, her hand still reaching across the table.  “Yep,” Tobin responds, using the hand Alex isn’t holding to close the menu.  They both order and she walks away, leaving them alone again.

“Alex,” Tobin starts, “are you sure about this?  Because like I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.  Just cause we were engaged and stuff, it doesn’t have to mean anything.”

Alex pulls her hand back, setting it in her lap.  “I don’t feel pressured.”  

Tobin starts rambling, “I’m sure not consciously, but like we were together a while.  There are a lot of things, me included, that just are mementos of your old life and I don’t want you to do it just because you think it might bring something back or I don’t know.”

“Tobin,” Alex interrupts, “can we just get through tonight.  You can worry about everything later.  I want to have one nice relaxing meal before we’re focused on soccer 24/7.”

“Okay,” Tobin agrees.

They eat dinner, conversation flowing smoothly, Alex keeping her hands on her own side of the table.  When the check finally comes Alex reaches for it quickly and slides her card into it.

“Really trying to wine and dine me huh?” Tobin snickers as Alex places the bill back on the table.

“Well, no wine,” Alex corrects.  “I’ll wine and dine you after the Olympics.”

Tobin raises her eyebrows, “Oh really?  Already planning dates for a month away?”

Alex shrugs with a shy smile.  “I hope so.  I feel like we have a good track record.”  Tobin nods as the waitress returns to pick up Alex’s card.  “Are you tired?” Alex asks.

Tobin shakes her head.  “I can sleep on the plane tomorrow.  Why?”

“I was thinking, if you wanted to, we could take a walk,” Alex nervously asks.

“Sure,” Tobin answers as the check is set back down.  

They both stand back up and head out the door.  Alex loops her arm through Tobin’s and they slowly walk down the street in silence.  They turn the corner onto a more populated street, filled mostly with high schoolers wondering between froyo, Starbucks, and the movie theater.  Tobin takes a small step to the right to put more space between them and shoves her hands into her pockets.

Alex looks down at her confused, but before she can question it Tobin looks up at her.  “We should probably head back to the car.”

Alex’s face falls, “Yeah, sure.” They turn and head back towards the car.

“It’s just all the people,” Tobin tries.

Alex nods, adjusting the purse on her shoulder.  They silently walk the rest of the way to the car and climb in.  Alex quickly starts the car and moves her hand to the gear shift.  Tobin places her hand on top of Alex’s before she can put the car into drive.

“Alex.  Hold on.”  Tobin looks at Alex with soft eyes.  “I was enjoying tonight.  It really was all of the people.  We still need to talk about stuff, and if we walk down a crowded street looking like a couple, people are going to think we’re back together.  I want us to know what we are before we start getting hounded, especially right before the Olympics.  Also if you decide this isn’t what you want, then going through that again...so publicly...it won’t be easy.  I just think we should hold off for now.”

Alex nods solemnly, “Okay.”

“Want to go home and watch a movie?” Tobin offers.  “You can snuggle with Norbs before we have to leave him for a month.”

Alex smiles slightly, “Sure.”

~~~

Alex, now in a tank top and shorts, sits on the couch rubbing Norbert’s head while Tobin gets them drinks from the kitchen.  Tobin sits down on the other side of Norbert and hands Alex her water.  Alex presses play and leans back into the couch.  She barely pays attention to the movie as it plays.  Halfway through she gets up to go to the bathroom and when she returns Norbert has moved to his doggy bed in the corner of the room.  Alex smiles and sits right next to Tobin.

Tobin keeps her arm up on the back of the couch behind Alex.  Alex curls her feet under herself and leans into Tobin, her head resting on Tobin’s shoulder.  She looks up feeling Tobin staring at her.  Their eyes lock.  “Is this okay?” Alex asks.

“Yeah,” Tobin responds with a small smile.  Tobin drops her hand from the couch cushion down to Alex’s shoulder, rubbing her thumb against Alex’s bare arm.

They finish the movie in this position.  Both paying more attention to where their bodies press against each other than to the movie on the screen.  The credits start to roll but neither wants to move.  Once the credits are done, Tobin forces herself to stand up.  “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Alex nods still on the couch. Tobin rubs the back of her neck.  “Night.”

~~~

Tobin climbs into bed and grabs her phone, finally responding to the text Allie had sent her hours ago.

**Harry: How’s it going??????**

**Tobin: Well that was our most awkward date we have ever been on**

It only takes a few seconds for Allie to start typing a response back.

**Harry: What??? Why?**

**Tobin: I just felt like she was trying to get us back to where we used to be but for her its still our first date**

**Tobin: She didn’t even tell me we were going on a date.  Just came downstairs looking hot af**

**Harry: She’s nervous.  You have already dated her for so long and she hasn’t dated you once.**

**Harry: Wow that sounds really weird.  She just feels a lot of pressure to make it perfect**

**Tobin: Well that’s the other thing.  I just feel like she’s being peer pressured to be with me**

**Harry: Tobin she wants to be with you**

**Tobin: But if it’s something that’s forced she isn’t going to stay.  I honestly don’t think I could take it if we broke up.  Her forgetting was hard but it was okay because it’s possible we can get back together**

**Harry: Tobin that’s what this is.  She’s trying to get back together with you**

**Tobin: I don’t want her to go too fast and then we just don’t get the same connection as the first time and break up**

**Harry: Tobin you love her and she loves you**

**Tobin: Right now she only loves me as a friend.  Real love takes time.  We can’t just go from 0 to 60.  It will freak her out in like a month**

~~~

Alex waits until she hears Tobin’s door close before standing up.  She slowly moves to her room and flops onto her bed.  She opens up the group text that Kelley made and so aptly named ‘Operation Talex’.

**Alex: So that was weird**

**Allie: Why**

**Kelley: Did you kiss her goodnight?**

**Alex: Anytime we did something that was date like she basically told me no.  We held hands for a little while at first and snuggled on the couch while watching a movie**

**Alex: No we didn’t kiss.  She awkwardly went upstairs when the movie finished**

**Kelley: That makes no sense.  Why was she being weird???**

**Alex: Idk. she made it seem like I didn’t really want to be with her**

**Allie: Did you tell her that you did**

**Alex: Yeah**

**Alex: She also seemed embarrassed of me because we took a walk after dinner and as soon as there was someone else on the street she moved away from me.  I was holding onto her and she pulled her arm away.**

**Kelley: So plan a of OT was not successful.  We’ll come up with a plan b**

**Allie: What did you wear on this date?**

**Alex: A tight black dress, decent amount of cleavage, high heels, hair down, light make up**

**Kelley: Sexy.  What did she think**

**Alex: It seemed like she liked it**

**Allie: Her exact words were you came downstairs looking hot af**

**Alex: You’re talking to her too? What else is she saying**

**Kelley: She’s texting you and not me about this.  I need another group chat**

**Allie: She’s saying she think’s you were pressured into dating her**

**Allie: Also I think you need to like officially ask her out because you kind of tricked her into this date**

**Allie: Kelley do not make a new group text.  You’ll see her tomorrow at camp**

**Alex: What if I ask her in a really big way?  That could show her I’m serious**

**Kelley: Hmmf**

**Kelley: Do you mean like at a game?**

**Allie: I don’t think Tobin would like something so public**

**Alex: Not at a game just more dramatic**

**Allie: I mean you can if we can think of something but I think low key is very Tobin.  It just needs to be high key enough that she knows you’re asking her out.**

**Kelley: ditto to that...she likes low key...do you have any type of plan**

**Alex: I don’t know about this date yet but I think I have a plan c if it doesn’t work**

**Kelley: What is it?**

**Allie: What’s the plan?**

**Alex: I’d rather not tell you guys in hopes that I don’t need to use it.  It’s not the most romantic**

**Alex: Or maybe it is**

**Alex: I need help with this next date though**

**Kelley: We’ll regroup tomorrow when we have free time and hopefully one of us will have something.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !?!?pleW


	22. Plan Woo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of the support for this story. I never expected it but it makes writing more enjoyable.

“I feel like I just abandoned my child,” Alex says for the fifth time as they walk into their hotel in Kansas City.

“You left him with your parents.  They are taking care of their grandchild.” Allie rolls her eyes.  “You’ll see him when we get back.  We have important business to attend to first.”

“Gold medal. Right,” Alex focuses.

“I meant you and Tobin.  We need to get his parents together.  But the gold is super important too.  Shit, Al,” Allie complains.  “Now I feel like I’m not focused enough.”

“You’re fine.  Come on, let’s go get our room keys.”

~~~

Alex sits in her room an hour before dinner texting her mom when there is a knock on the door. Alex looks over to Alyssa who shrugs her shoulders.  Alex sets her phone down and moves to the door.  She opens it to find Christen, Kelley, and Allie waiting on the other side of the door.

“We have planning to do,” Kelley says as she pushes her way in.  “Hey, Alyssa.”

Alex shares a look of amusement with Allie and Christen as she moves out of the way to let them in.  They find somewhere to sit as Alex closes the door and walks back to her bed.

“Do you want me to leave?” Alyssa asks looking around the room.

“No.  You can stay.  Maybe offer some advice actually,” Alex says.

She puts her book down, “On what?”

“Well,” Kelley spouts before anyone else can think to speak, “part one of Operation Talex flopped kind of hard.”  She turns to Alex and lightly rests her hand on her knee.  “Not that we blame you for that.” Alex glares at her and smacks at the hand.  Kelley pulls it back laughing, “So we need to come up with a exciting yet tasteful yet powerful yet loving yet-”

“Kel, get on with it,” Christen demands.

“Hmmf,” Kelley pouts.  “Fine.  We need a good way for Alex to ask Tobin out again.”

“Oh,” Alyssa leans back.  “That doesn’t sound so hard.”

“Well it is,” Kelley groans.

“Why don’t you just recreate your first date that you and Tobin had,” Alyssa states.  “I’m sure between all of us we can piece together what happened.”

Alex pouts, falling back onto her pillow.  “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” she groans.  Alyssa gives Alex an amused look.  “That would have been great but I can’t wait a month until we’re back in Portland.  I might explode before that.”

Kelley smirks, “Just jump her.  I can get her room key and we can go to the mall and pick you up something sexy.” Kelley wiggles her eyebrows until Alex throws a pillow at her.

“Or,” Allie says, “you could just ask her out like a normal person, take her out on an adorable, romantic date and woo her.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Christen agrees.

“Fine,” Kelley groans.  “Plan woo.  Let’s go.” She smiles, pulling out a notebook.

~~~

Alex knocks on the door and waits.  It opens and Alex holds out the twelve orange roses she had just bought.  She looks up past the flowers to see a shocked Lindsey, “Um.”

“Shit,” Alex sighs, “Sorry.”

Lindsey grins at Alex, calling back into their room, “Tobs, it’s for you.”  She winks at Alex before disappearing back into the room.

The door opens again, this time Tobin stands on the other side, already dressed for their afternoon practice.  Alex smiles at Tobin and holds out the flowers.  “I got these for you,” Alex says.

Tobin reaches out, taking them. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.  I was kind of wondering if you want to have dinner with me tonight,” Alex asks nervously.  “As in a date,” Alex confirms.  “Do you want to go on a date with me?”  

Tobin looks up through her eyelashes, nose buried in the flowers.  “Sure.  Where are we going?”

Alex shrugs, “It’s going to be a lot more casual than last one.  Wear whatever you want.”

“Well, when are we leaving?” Tobin asks, leaning against the door frame.

“Six sound good?” Alex asks.

Tobin nods, pulling out one of the roses from the buquet.  She smells it and then tucks it behind her ear.

They stand there staring at eachother for a few moments.  Tobin gives her a smug look, “Was there anything else?”

Alex lightly shakes her head, keeping eye contact and the small smile on her face.  “Nothing else,” she mumbles.

Tobin raises an eyebrow, “Do you want to come in?”

Alex shrugs, “No.  It’s fine.”

“Alex, are you just gonna stand there?” Tobin asks.  “You do realize we have practice in a bit, right?  You should maybe go change.”

Alex pouts, breaking her eye contact, “Fine.”  She smiles again as Tobin takes another sniff of the flowers.  “I’m really looking forward to tonight.”

Tobin nods, “Me too.  Now go get ready.”

~~~

Tobin stands in front of the mirror, brushing her hair.  There is a knock at the door and Tobin turns to Lindsey who is laying on her bed.  “Can you get that?” she asks.

“You are literally standing right next to it.” Lindsey complains looking up from her phone.

“Please.  I’m not ready,” Tobin begs before turning to the bathroom and closing the door.

There is another knock and Lindsey rolls out of bed, grumbling.  “Why can’t they just fuck already and stop acting like high schoolers?”  She opens the door.  “Alex, hi.  Tobin’s apparently not ready yet.”

Lindsey bangs on the bathroom door after letting Alex in to loudly announce her arrival. “Hey, Tobs, Alex is here.  In case you didn’t know that already.  You can make your grand entrance now.”

The bathroom door opens and Tobin glares at Lindsey as she walks around her and towards the beds.  Alex is standing in front of the dresser, admiring the flowers sitting in an ice bucket.

“I, uh, didn’t have a vase so I improvised,” Tobin says, standing a few feet behind Alex.

Alex smiles and turns around, “My fault.  I wasn’t really thinking.” They both smile at each other until Lindsey can’t take it.

“Well that was stimulating,” she interrupts, “but the night is young and so am I.  So get going and don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

They turn to Lindsey, amusement and confusion on both of their faces.

“We’re having game night and I’m hosting.  Get out.  Let’s go.”  Lindsey loops her arms through Alex’s and Tobin’s and guides them both towards the door.  

Tobin opens the door, allowing Alex through first.  Tobin makes sure she has her wallet, phone and room key before turning back, “Try not to let Pinoe go through my stuff.”

“No promises,” Lindsey calls back as the door closes.

They head downstairs and out to one of the rental cars.  “So are you going to tell me where we’re going.”

“You’re just going to have to wait and see,” Alex gleams.

They have only been driving for a few minutes when Alex pulls into the parking lot for their practice field.  “Why are we here?” Tobin asks as they get out.

“You’ll see,” Alex smiles and they meet at the front of the car.  Alex hesitantly reaches out for Tobin’s hand, her fingertips brushing the back of her wrist.  Tobin turns her hand forward slightly allowing Alex to easily slide her palm against Tobin’s and interlock their fingers.  Alex lets out the breath she was holding and starts walking towards the field with Tobin.

Once they make it around the bleachers, Tobin sees a blanket laid out on the center of the pitch along with a team cooler and some hotel pillows.  Alex stops when they reach the grass, kicking off her flip flops and bending down to pick them up.  Tobin quickly copies her, neither letting go of each other while they do so. The continue walking towards the blanket  and stop when they reach it.  They sit down on adjacent sides and Alex reaches for the cooler, pulling it closer.  She opens it to find two pre made sandwiches, water bottles, and a bag of grapes

“How did you do all this?” Tobin asks as she peeks inside.

Alex smiles, “I had a little help.”

“Kelley,” Tobin says knowingly.

Alex nods handing Tobin a plate, “And Allie, Christen, Alyssa.”

Tobin raises her eyebrows, “So a lot of thought went into this, huh?”

“A bit, yeah.” Alex can’t decipher Tobin’s look, “Do you like it?”

“It’s a little hot out but yeah,” Tobin answers with a smile.

Alex nods and hands Tobin an ice cold water bottle.  “Will this help?”

“Perfect.

~~~

They finish eating and Tobin leans back on her hands, spreading her legs out.

Alex looks at her watch to check the time.  “So we don’t have to but there’s a movie theater a few blocks away showing The Secret Life of Pets in half an hour if you want.”

Tobin shrugs, “Whatever you want.”

“Just an offer cause it’s still pretty hot out and my other plan was just to lay out here till we have to get back.”

“Could we just lay here?” Tobin asks, looking up at the yellow sky.

“Of course.”  Alex stands up and moves the cooler away from the center of the blanket.  She then grabs the two pillows and hands one to Tobin.

Tobin places hers down and adjusts herself so she is laying on her back.  Alex sits cross legged near Tobin’s waist.  She places the pillow in her lap and leans her elbows against it.  She nervously watches Tobin tap out a light beat against her stomach with her fingers.  

“Is this better than the last one?” Alex voices quietly.

Tobin lifts her head to look at Alex, “What?”

“I was just wondering if this date is better than the last one,” Alex repeats with a little more confidence.

Tobin sits up so she’s level with Alex.  “There was nothing wrong with the last date, Alex.  It was really nice.  I’m just worried that you only want to be with me because it’s what you think you’re supposed to do.”

“But I don’t,” Alex argues.

“I’m not saying it something you’re doing on purpose,” Tobin explains. “You wouldn’t even realize it.  Just there’s a lot of stuff out there and if a month down the road you decide this isn’t what you want it will be a lot harder to turn back then if we take it slow now.”

Tobin gives her a reassuring smile before lying back down.  Alex watches her for a few moments before placing her pillow next to Tobin’s but instead of moving to lay next to Tobin she shifts her body so her head is resting on Tobin’s stomach.  Tobin lifts her head up and Alex can feel the muscles below her face contract.

Tobin gives her a questioning look but says nothing as her head falls back onto the pillow.  Alex relaxes and reaches over to grab Tobin’s hand.  She picks it up and starts lightly pulling at her fingers.

After five minutes Tobin asks, “You having fun?”

“I’ve just never really looked at your hands before,” Alex explains.

“Well…,” Tobin questions.

“Well what?”

“How do they compare?  Out of all the hands that you have closely investigated, where do mine stack up?”  Tobin jokes.

Alex slowly spreads her fingers out along Tobin’s, pushing their hands flat against each other.  “They’re soft, you keep them well manicured. I like this nail polish by the way,” Alex says of Tobin’s white nails.

“Thanks, it’s Kriegs’s I think.”

Alex lets her fingers slip from Tobin’s, falling into the spaces between each finger.  Her hand closes around Tobin’s. “It’s pretty nice to hold, too,” Alex braves.

“Even though it’s super sweaty?”

“It’s hot out,” Alex answers.  Tobin lightly nods and watches the sun slowly reach the horizon.  They both sit in silence as the sun sets, watching it dip low in the sky.  

Once the sun has set and stars start appearing in the sky, Alex sits up and moves to Tobin’s side.  Alex lets her hand fall right next to Tobin’s but not connecting them.  Tobin reaches up with the arm between them, pointing at the sky, “Do you think any of those stars are UFOs?”

Alex turns to Tobin, “Well, I’m pretty sure there are a few planes up there, not sure about the aliens.”

Tobin turns on her side, facing Alex. They stare into each other's eyes until Alex’s phone starts ringing.  Alex reaches into her pocket to pull it out.  She turns off the alarm and looks back to Tobin.  “We have thirty minutes until we need to be back.”

Tobin nods, takes in a deep breath and stands up.  She holds out her hands which Alex happily accepts.  Alex lets herself be pulled fully into Tobin, less than an inch of space separating them them.  

Alex’s eyes flick down to Tobin’s lips, her eyes focusing on them for a few moments.  Tobin releases Alex’s hands and takes a step back, her hand moving to the top of her head and running her fingers through her hair.  She takes a step around Alex and leans down to pick up the pillows.

Alex internally groans and tries to shake the disappointment from her expression.  She starts placing their food into the cooler, a little more violently then she would under different circumstances.  Once the last of the food is removed Tobin grabs the blanket and pulls it into a ball.  She looks around making sure they aren’t forgetting anything.

“Ready?” Tobin asks, nervously looking over at Alex.  Alex nods and starts dragging the cooler towards the car.  Tobin follows behind with the pillows under one arm and the blanket on the other side.  

When they get to the car, Tobin silently helps Alex pick the cooler up and load it into the trunk.  The silence continues as they walk around the car to their respective sides and climb in.  Tobin looks over at the forward, who is driving.  “Al?”

“What?” Alex snaps as she changes lanes.

“Nothing,” Tobin sighs and rests her head against the window.

Alex pulls up to a red light and turns to Tobin, a little calmer.  “What were you going to say?”

Tobin shakes her head, “It was nothing.  I figured it out.”

Alex skeptically looks at Tobin until the light turns green.  Tobin pulls her phone out as Alex starts driving again.

**Tobin: I fucked up**

They reach the hotel and Alex parks the car.  They gather the stuff and walk into the hotel.  “Should I be worried about the hotel pillows?” Tobin asks.

“You’re bringing them back, not stealing them.”

Tobin nods, “Good point.”

After they drop the cooler off in the training room they stop at Kelley’s room to return the pillows and blanket.  Kelley opens the door, bouncing on her toes but one harsh look from Alex and solemn look from Tobin stills the jumping.  

“Thanks for setting it all up, Kel,” Alex says, handing back the items.

“Yeah,” Kelley replies, eyes darting between the two.  “No problem.”

“Okay, well, see you tomorrow.”

The door closes and they are left in awkwardness again.  Alex walks Tobin the few steps down to her door.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Tobin mumbles.  

Alex replies, “Yeah.”

Tobin spins the key card around in her fingers.  “Yeah.”

Alex’s eyes flick down to Tobin’s lips as she responds. Tobin notices again but this time doesn’t back away.  Alex’s mouth opens to say something when the door across the hall opens and Hope steps out holding an ice bucket.

She smiles at the two, “Hey.  Missed you guys at dinner.”

“Yeah, we went out,” Tobin explains.

“That’s cool.  Where’d ya go?” Hope asks.

“Oh this place near the practice fields.  It was deserted,” Tobin explains.  She continues, looking at Hope but talking to Alex, “But it was actually really nice.  I had a lot of fun.”

“That’s good,” Hope smiles.  “I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast.  I need to go get some ice.”

“Night, Hope,” they both say as she starts heading down the hallway.

Tobin turns around from watching Hope to find Alex smiling at her.  Tobin can’t help the smile that forms across her face, “What?”

“Nothing,” Alex says, trying to contain her smile.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.  Night, Tobs.”

“Night, Lex,” Tobin says softly as Alex turns around towards her room.

Tobin slips her key into her door and walks into her room, finding someone on her bed waiting for her.  “Just what I’ve always wanted.  A tall blonde in my bed, but what do we tell Bati?”

Allie glares at her, reaching over to grab a pillow and throwing it at Tobin.  Tobin easily catches it and climbs on the bed next to Allie.  “What’s up?”

“Well, I was here talking to Lindsey and you texted me saying you fucked up, so I figured I would wait for you.”  Tobin looks in between Lindsey and Allie.  “So, what did you do?”

Tobin chews on her lip.  “I think Alex wanted me to kiss her,” Tobin says nervously, picking at the hem of her shirt.  “Well, I know she did.  She used to get this look in her eye and she gave me the look.”

“Okay, really don’t need to hear about the sex eyes Alex gives you.”

“Yeah,” Lindsey adds, “we’ve all seen them.”

Tobin stares down at her fidgeting hands, “Well, I got nervous and just started cleaning up our stuff instead.”

“It’s not like you haven’t kissed her a million times before.  Why were you nervous?” Lindsey asks.

“It’s our first kiss to her.”  Tobin sighs, “I know she’s the love of my life.  I don’t want to mess it up.”

“You won’t mess it up,” Allie comforts.  “It could be the worst kiss and it’s still going to mean so much to her because it’s you.”

“Oh, thanks,” Tobin says sarcastically.  “That makes me feel so much better.”

“I live to please.  Also, I’m pretty sure you know what she likes.”

~~~

Alex wakes up to a banging on her door.  She rolls out of bed, moping as she opens the door. “What do you want?”

“Well, good afternoon to you too,” Allie says with a crooked smile.  “You said you were going to help me with stuffing invitations after lunch.”

“Kay,” Alex mumbles as she walks out the door.  

Allie holds her arm out, stopping Alex. “Maybe put a shirt on, or at least shoes.”  Alex glares at her before turning back around.  Alex walks back out the door a minute later, giving Allie a look as she walks by.  “Much better.”

They make their way downstairs to their conference room where Kelley and Alyssa are placing stamps on a large stack of envelopes.  They sit down and start helping.

Thirty minutes later the door opens and without turning around Alex can tell Ashlyn and Megan are in the room.

“Lex, you’re wearing my shirt,” Ashlyn exclaims as she wraps her tattooed arm around her neck.  “Ooo, I gotta get a picture.”  Ashlyn steps back and takes a picture.  “Perfect.”

Alex turns around, “Let me see.” She sees Tobin standing next to Ashlyn, looking over her shoulder at the phone.  Ashlyn steps back towards Alex, holding out the phone.  Alex nods but her eyes never leave Tobin’s.

Tobin smiles back at her.  “Why didn’t I get a shirt Ash?” Kelley asks upset.  

“You never asked.  Alex did. See how that works,” Ashlyn smirks.  Kelley points a finger at Ashlyn, chomping her teeth before turning back towards the table.

Alex stands up and walks around Ashlyn who takes her seat.  “Hey.”

“Hi,” Tobin responds softly.  “How’s the wedding stuff going?”

“Not bad.  I got a paper cut though.” Alex pouts, holding out her pointer finger.  

Tobin takes her hand, moving it closer to her face.  “I don’t see anything.”

“Well, it still really hurt.”

Tobin nods, staring at Alex’s finger and chewing on her lip.  “Hey, love birds,” Allie calls, breaking their trance.  “We’re only halfway done and I want to be done before dinner.  We got work to do.”

Tobin drops Alex’s hand and moves around her, towards the table.  “Where do you want me chief?”

~~~

Sydney slides into the seat next to Alex.  “Great game.”

Alex looks up from her menu.  “Thanks, Syd.  Wish I could have scored but ya know, we still won and that’s what matters.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go team.  You’ve been ignoring me,” Sydney glares.

“I’ve been busy.” Alex tries to reason.

“You’ve been busy or busy getting busy,” Sydney laughs.  Alex reaches out and smacks at Sydney.  “Is that a yes to the getting busy?”

“No,” Alex forcefully whispers.  

“Oh, calm down.  She’s at another table.  Can’t hear us.”  Sydney points to Alex’s other side where Tobin is sitting, proving she is not paying attention.  “So Ash filled me in a bit.  You guys have been on a date but nothing happened from that.”

“Two dates,” Alex corrects.  “It’s still going okay I guess.  We just have a lot of other stuff on our plates right now so it’s hard to focus on her and Rio at the same time.  I think we both kind of have a silent agreement that pausing this thing is okay until we’re back.”

“Do you want to wait that long?

“God no.  I want to kiss her now.  I don’t care if we don’t do anything besides kissing but it’s messing with my head.”

Sydney pouts and turns to look at Tobin again.  “You should just kiss her then.”

“But what if it makes things weird.  I don’t want things to be weird going into Rio.  I need to be focused on the games.”

“There is so much down time when you you’re over there that is meant for you to relax.  How are you going to be able to relax if you’re stressing about this?” Sydney points out.  “Also it’s only going to be weird if you let it be weird.”

Alex throws her head back and groans.  She looks towards Sydney and sticks out her bottom lip.  Sydney raises her eyebrow, giving Alex a look.  “Just kiss her.  It will clear your head and then after you can put it on pause if you really want but she has looked over at you like ten times since I sat down.  She wants you Alex.”

Alex turns and catches Tobin quickly looking down at the drink in her hands.  Alex smiles and turns back to Sydney.

~~~

Tobin sits in the conference room after their dinner D.C., arguing with Morgan over the game of cards between them.  Alex watches from the other side of the room next to Ali, coloring books open in front of them.

“Alex,” Ali waves her hand in front of the forwards face, getting her attention.  Alex turns her attention away from Tobin and the tank top, exposing her arms. “The point of coloring is normally staying within the lines,” Ali points out.

Alex looks down at her hand, the purple she had been using to color a circle now halfway across the page with a zig zag line connecting the two points.  Alex groans and drops the pencil.

“Want to talk about it?”

Alex lets out a sigh, “I want to kiss her.”

Ali smiles, “Then do it.”  Alex bobs her head, standing up with a purpose.  Ali grabs her arm, pulling her back down.  “Easy there tiger.  Don’t do it in front of everyone.”

“When then?  Whenever I think it’s going to happen she backs away or something happens and I chicken out.”

Ali thinks for a second, “Could you do it right now?”

Alex looks back at Tobin, biting her lip. “I think so.”

“What about in twenty minutes?  Can you keep your courage for twenty minutes?”  Ali asks.

“I would hope so but I don’t know.  I’m normally amping myself up when something happens.  Does this mean I shouldn’t kiss her?” Alex asks worried.  “Am I not ready?  I’ve never been this nervous before with other people.  I haven’t been nervous at all since high school and that was my first kiss.”

Ali softly smiles at Alex. “No.  Tobin is more special than the guys you dated in high school.  Or is it the girl part?  Wait how are you with the liking women now?”

“I’m good actually.  It took a while for me to get used to but i kinda realized it wasn’t something new.  Just my feelings made sense,” Alex tries to explain.  

Ali places her hand on Alex’s.  “Go.  Take her outside or something.  Try to work up the nerve and kiss her.  At least get her away from Morgan before one of them does something stupid.”  

Alex laughs as she watches Morgan flick a card at Tobin.  “Thanks.”  Alex stands up and heads over to where Tobin and Morgan are throwing cards at each other.  “Tobin,” Alex softly says when she reaches the table.  Tobin and Morgan stop throwing cards and Tobin lowers the hand she had up to protect her face.  “Can we go for a walk before bed?”

Tobin looks to Morgan who shrugs.  “Sure.”  She stands up, tossing the final card in her hand at Morgan before walking the few steps to Alex.  “Let’s go.”

Alex reaches down, connecting her hand with Tobin’s as soon as she is within reach.  Tobin tries to keep the smile off of her face but fails as she looks down at their interlocked fingers.  Alex smiles back and leads them out of the door and out of the hotel.

Ali sits down in Tobin’s vacated seat.  “I feel like we’re in high school,” Ali sighs.  Morgan nods as she finishes putting the cards back into a pile.

“That’s nothing like high school,” Mallory says from the floor near them.  “High school sure has changed since you two grannies were there,” she continues, not able to keep a straight face.

Ali laughs as Morgan throws the stack of cards at the young forward.  “At least I can legally drink.”

“I will drink you under the bus in Rio,” Mallory challenges.

“Woah,” Ashlyn exclaims as she walks over.  “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah.  No,” Lindsey pats the top of Mallory’s head.  “Good try though.”

~~~

Alex leads them down the sidewalk around the hotel.  “So what’s up?” Tobin asks after a quiet minute.  

Alex rubs her thumb against Tobin’s hand.  “I just wanted some alone time with you.”  The stop when they get to the gate surrounding the pool.  They turn to each other.  “We haven’t had anytime just the two of us since Kansas.”  

Tobin looks around, not finding anyone.  Alex chews on her lips and looks around too before landing on Tobin’s lips.  “Well, it’s just us now,” Tobin refocuses on Alex.  She takes a deep breath when she recognizes the look in Alex’s eyes, “Alex?”

Alex forces her gaze back up Tobin’s eyes.  “Sorry...  So are you ready for Rio?”

Tobin raises her eyebrow and opens the gate, “Are you interviewing me now?”

“What?  Oh… uh, sorry.  We can talk about something else,” Alex rambles while following Tobin through the gate.  “We can talk about Norbert and how much I miss him.”

Tobin rolls her eyes and leads Alex to a pair of lounge chairs a few yards away.  “It’s been like a week.  We’ve got a long way to go.  Just look at pictures.”  Tobin sits down on one facing the other chair, giving Alex the option of how close she wants to sit.

“I do,” Alex responds, sitting down directly across from Tobin, keeping their hands connected as she leans forward.  “I look through the book you made of stalker photos,” Alex laughs.

Tobin holds her free hand up, “Woah.  Those were not stalkerish.  Those were normal. The ones I got from Kelley, that you took of me sleeping were stalkerish.  You are awake in all of them, aware that I am a few feet away, just more concerned with Norbs then with me.  You were the creeper.”

Alex slaps at Tobin’s leg, “I am not a creeper.”  Tobin shrugs.  “I’m not,” Alex insists.

“Whatever you want to think, Lex,” Tobin responds, leaning back.  Alex stands up and moves next to Tobin, their sides pressed together.  Alex picks up her arm and drapes it around Tobin’s shoulder.  Tobin turns her head and smiles at Alex.  Alex’s eyes flick to Tobin’s lips before returning to her eyes.  Out of her peripheral she can see Tobin’s mouth moving but Alex stays focused on Tobin’s eyes.  The hand placed on her leg breaks her trance.

“Sorry,” Alex blushes.  

Tobin smiles, “It helps to pay attention if you want to have a conversation.  I was trying to tell you about this coffee place I went to today with Chris.”

“Sorry,” Alex repeats, “go ahead.”

“No, it’s fine.  Wasn’t actually that exciting.  What has you distracted?” Tobin asks.

“Nothing,” Alex quickly answers.

~~~

An hour later, Alex stands outside Tobin’s door, looking down at her feet while the midfielder pats the numerous pockets of her jeans and the sweatshirt wrapped around her waist, finally pulling the key card out of her back pocket.  As Tobin turns to insert the key into to the door, Alex looks up and sees Kelley and Allie rounding the corner.  She waves them back with a glare.  They both smile, Allie giving Alex a thumbs up and Kelley winking as they retreat back towards the elevator where they came from.  

Tobin peeks her head inside the door to find a dark, empty room.  “Guess everyone is still downstairs.”

“Yeah,” Alex responds, looking back down the hallway to confirm Kelley wouldn’t be returning.  Alex rubs her arm nervously, rocking on her feet.  

Tobin flips the dead bolt to keep the door open and turns back to Alex.  They stare at eachother for a few moments before Tobin breaks the silence,  “Well, goodnight.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”  Tobin reaches out, hand flat against the door, pushing it open slightly.

‘ _Now or never_.’ “Wait,” Alex softly insists.  Tobin turns back as Alex closes the distance between them.  She brings her hand up to Tobin’s cheek and she leans her head in the last few inches, her eyes fluttering closed as she connects their lips.  Tobin doesn’t respond after a moment and Alex pulls away, quickly opening her eyes.  She watches Tobin’s eyes slowly blink open and her cheeks turn dark red as her hand falls from the door.  

“I...I, uh...okay,” Tobin stutters, her hand reaching up and gripping at the front of her shirt for the rings underneath.

“Okay?” Alex asks, taking a step back, not able to read the expression on Tobin’s face.  

“Yeah. Could we maybe-” Tobin shakes her head, cutting herself off.

“Could we what?” Alex asks nervously.  ‘ _Could we never do that again?  Could we pretend that never happened?  Could we go back to being friends_?’

“Could we try that again?” Tobin whispers, looking down at her feet.  “I wasn’t ready.”

Alex’s heart skips a beat.  “Yes,” she answers excitedly.  “I mean yeah,” she continues, calmer, “we can definitely try that again.”

Tobin looks up with a nervous smile.  She quickly glances both ways down the hall, confirming it’s deserted before taking a step to close the distance between them again, her hands reaching up to Alex’s cheeks.  Alex watches Tobin’s eyes shut as she leans in and Alex mimics her movements.  Their lips meet again but unlike the previous time where both of them were unmoving Alex’s hands reach for Tobin’s shoulders then slide down to her waist, gripping the fabric and pulling her closer.

Their lips move smoothly against each other until Alex feels her face getting wet.  She pulls away to see tears running down Tobin’s face. ‘ _Shit_.’  “Tobin?  What’s wrong?” Alex asks concerned.  “I’m sorry.  We don’t have to do that again if you don’t want to.”

Tobin shakes her head, wiping her face with the sleeve.  “No.  It’s fine.  I just never thought I would be able to do that again.  Sorry.  This is really lame.”  She wipes her face again, not able to meet Alex’s concerned look, her eyes focused near Alex’s shoulder.

Alex brings her hand under Tobin’s chin, lifting it up.  “It’s okay,” Alex breathes as she softly connects their lips again, pulling away after a second.  She turns her hand so it is resting against Tobin’s cheek and wipes a stray tear away.  “We can take this at your pace.  Next time you want to kiss me, you can.”  Alex wraps Tobin in a tight hug and Tobin’s arms wrap around her waist to reciprocate.  After thirty seconds, Alex gives one final squeeze and pulls away.  “Night, Tobs,” she smiles as she turns and starts heading to her room a few doors down.

Alex is ten steps away when Tobin calls out, “Hold on.”  Alex turns around to find Tobin only a step away.  Tobin’s hand moves to the back of Alex’s neck and pulls her in, pressing their lips tight together.  Alex smiles into the kiss, grabbing the front of Tobin’s shirt and holding her close.  They break away after almost a minute, both slightly out of breath as they stare into each other’s eyes.  “Uh, thanks,” Tobin mumbles, causing Alex to laugh.

“Anytime,” Alex responds, bringing her hand up to tuck a piece of hair behind Tobin’s ear.  “Seriously.”  She then turns around and takes the final few steps to her door.  She takes one final glance at Tobin, who hasn’t moved from her spot, before she slips her key card into the door and disappears inside.

Tobin slowly turns around, her hand gripping the rings through her t-shirt.  She pushes her door open and walks to the bed, collapsing face first down on top of it, her feet still on the floor.  

It opens again a few minutes later and Tobin can hear footsteps stop behind her.  “So is this your new sleeping position cause most people prefer sleeping fully on the bed.”  Tobin rolls over with a huge smile on her face.  Kelley smirks, “What has you so happy?”

“We kissed,” Tobin says, her smile growing.

Kelley squeaks and jumps on the bed next to Tobin.  “Took you guys long enough.  What happened?”

“Well I cried, so that kind of sucked, but then we kissed again and that _really_ didn’t suck,” Tobin explains.

“Wait you cried.  Explain. Good crying right?” Kelley asks, concerned.

“Yeah.  She kissed me and it was awkward, so I asked if we could do it again and the-”

Kelley holds her hand up.  “Wait you asked to kiss her again?”

Tobin nods, “Yeah.  I didn’t want her to think I was that shitty at kissing, but I also didn’t want to like force her into it if she was really put off by the first one.  So I asked, and when we kissed again, the emotions just kind of got to me.  I think this might actually work.”

“Of course it’s going to work, Tobin.  You guys were perfect for each other a year ago.  Of course you’re going to be perfect for each other now.  So,” Kelley smirks, “was it a _good_ kiss?  Was it just kissing?”  Kelley wiggles her eyebrows as Tobin glares at her.

“It was a PG kiss,” Tobin states.

“What?” Kelley asks bewildered.  “Not even a little tongue.”  Tobin pushes Kelley, sending her rolling off the bed.  She lands on her feet and grins.  “I’ll take that as a no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they finally kissed. YAY!  
> Not sure when the next chapter will go up because I really don't want to write about the Olympic heartbreak but I'll get it done. I wanted to not write it so much that I started writing what happens after Rio already.


	23. Belo Horizonte

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support, I'm glad you guys liked the awkwardness that was the kiss.  
> So I had planned on having the Olympics being one chapter but just this chapter is the longest one and it's only half of the Olympics so I had to split it up. Not too much drama in this chapter but the next one has some shit coming up.

Tobin sits at breakfast, unable to keep the smile off her face as she bites into her toast.  She half-listens to Sam, Emily and Whitney talking about Boston.  Tobin feels two familiar arms wrap around her from behind.  Her heart beat picks up as soft, warm lips press against her cheek.  “Good morning,” Alex whispers into her ear.  Tobin blushes and turns her head towards Alex.  

“Hi,” she says softly, staring straight into Alex’s bright, blue eyes.  “Do you want to sit?”

Alex looks up at the full table, finding all sets of eyes staring back at her.  “It’s fine.  There aren’t any seats.”  

Tobin, aware that they are the focus of the rest of the table, smiles.  “Moby doesn’t need to be here.  She can sit on the floor.”

“Ouch.  Rude.   _You_ could go sit at another table and Alex could take your spot,”  Morgan quips.  

“Or Alex could just sit on your lap,” Meghan offers from the other side of the table.  

Tobin turns to glare at Meghan and Alex leans her head down again.  Her forehead against Tobin’s cheek as she whispers into her ear, “I could sit on your lap.”

Alex then stands up and walks around the table in the direction of the food, Tobin’s retort to Meghan lost in her throat as she stares across the table, mouth partially open.  Tobin watches Alex grab a plate and start to fill it with food.  Ashlyn elbows her and leans over, “Stop drooling.”

Tobin clamps her mouth shut and elbows Ashlyn back.  “Shut up,” she grumbles as she grabs her half full cup of orange juice.  She quickly drains it and stands up to go refill it.  She makes it to where Alex is waiting for her omelet.

Tobin slides an arm around Alex’s waist, startling the forward.  Tobin smiles at her, “So, uh, last night really happened, right?”

“Yep,” Alex pops.  “I would do it again now, but...” Alex looks behind her at the rest of their teammates, “I feel like we’re already causing such an uprising that it might be too much for them.”

Tobin looks back too, “Well they’ve all seen it before….except Mal,” she adds as an afterthought.

Alex is handed her freshly cooked eggs and Tobin guides her towards the drinks.  Tobin refills her glass while Alex gets a cup of water.  Without discussion, they head to a quieter table in the corner where Hope sits with Crystal and Megan.  The three look up when Tobin and Alex sit down.

“So you guys disappeared last night,” Megan winks.  Crystal flicks the side of Megan’s head and leans around her to talk to Hope.

Tobin takes a long sip of her drink before looking at Alex.  “We should talk about that,” Tobin says just loud enough so only Alex can hear.  Alex turns to her confused as she chews on her food.  “Like how out we want to be,” Tobin explains.  “Probably not public until post Olympics so we don’t have to worry about that stuff but like with the team and stuff.”

“I don’t want to hide it,” Alex answers.  “Can we just act however we want in front of them?  I feel like they can figure it out and it’s not like it’s new for them, just me...and Mal.” Alex smirks as she uses her fork to cut up some egg.

“However we want?” Tobin asks playfully.

“Yeah,” Alex shrugs, taking another bite, not picking up on Tobin’s tone.  She swallows before continuing, “Like we don’t need to flaunt it, but I don’t want to have to hide it.”  She looks to Tobin, nervous, “Unless that’s what we were doing before and that’s what you want now.  Then we can keep doing that.”

Tobin reaches out, her hand landing along Alex jaw but slides back behind her neck as she stands up out her seat and starts to lean down. “However I want,” she mumbles before pressing her lips against Alex’s.  Alex turns her head slightly and pushes up into Tobin’s lips while her hand moves up to rest against Tobin’s arm.

Tobin pulls away too soon for Alex’s liking and sits back down in her seat, grinning.  They both realize the once semi noisy room is now silent.  As they turn towards the rest of the room, a few people start banging on the tables and calling out to them.

Heat starts spreading against Alex’s face as Tobin holds up a middle finger.  “You’ll get used to them.  They’re just jealous.”

~~~

Once Alex finishes her breakfast they head up to their rooms together so Alex can change for their weightlifting session.  They step into the empty elevator and push the button for their floor. When the doors slide closed Alex steps in front of Tobin, chewing on her lip.  Tobin smirks, “Yes?”

“I feel like we’re in high school,” Alex whispers, pointing Tobin’s chin towards her so she can press their lips together.  She pulls away and smiles as Tobin’s eyes flutter open.  

“I mean that’s not what high school was like for me.  It would have been way better if it was,” Tobin jokes as the doors open and Alex pulls Tobin by her hand out of the elevator.  They first stop at Tobin’s room so she can grab her bag before they continue to Alex’s room.  Tobin moves to the bed and leans back against the pillows as Alex starts looking for her clothes.  She pulls her phone out and waits for Alex to finish getting dressed, keeping her eyes down.  

Alex looks over at Tobin before she picks her training shirt up.  “You know you see me change in the locker room like everyday,” Alex comments as she moves next to Tobin.

Tobin looks up, involuntarily biting on her lip when she sees Alex in just her sports bra.  “It’s different here.  We’re in a hotel room, alone.  There it’s work.  Also we just started doing...whatever this is.”

Alex sits down near Tobin’s hip, playing with the shirt in her lap.  “So last night, I was wondering... what are we?”

Tobin shrugs, “I don’t know.  What do you want to be?” Tobin’s eyes glance over Alex’s body again.

Alex leans down and kisses Tobin.  “I want to be yours.”

Tobin laughs, “Well that was super cheesey.”

“I know.”

“Get dressed.  We need to get downstairs.”  Alex smiles and pulls her shirt on.  She leans down, her hand moving to Tobin’s cheek as she pushes their lips together.

Tobin’s hands move to Alex’s hips when the door opens.   Alex quickly stands up as Allie walks into the room.  Allie looks between the two, “Uh, I’m just...my bag…”  Allie points towards her bag in the corner of the room.  “What’s going on?”

“Alex is getting dressed,” Tobin explains.

Allie looks at the dresser where Alex’s sneakers and socks sit.  “Near the bed?”  They both look at each other, blushing and unsure how to respond. “Okay, it’s starting again.”  Allie answers her own question while walking to her bag and picking it up.  “We have to leave soon so hurry this up.”  She starts to continue but then closes her mouth, shakes her head, and walks out the door.

“Uh, yeah.”  Alex moves to the dresser and finishes getting ready.  When Alex stands up from tying her shoes, Tobin’s arms snake around her waist from behind.  “Hi.”

Tobin presses her lips against Alex’s neck.  “Hi,” she breathes against her skin.  

Alex spins in her arms and wraps her own arms around Tobin’s neck.  “We should go to practice.”

“Yeah,” Tobin replies, her eyes still locked on Alex’s.  Tobin leans in and slowly connects their lips.  “Okay.  We can go now,” Tobin says as she pulls away and drops her arms.

~~~

“Movie night,” Kelley cheers as she sits down with her dinner.  Tobin looks up, pasta hanging from her mouth.  “Oh that’s sexy, Tobs.  Isn’t that sexy, Alex?” Kelley asks as Alex sits down next to Tobin.  She looks over as Tobin finishes scooping the spaghetti into her mouth, her tongue darting out to clean her lips.

Alex nods, “Very.”  Tobin’s eyes widen.  Alex reaches her hand out to Tobin’s cheek and leans in to give Tobin a quick kiss.  

“Eating over here,” Kelley complains.  

“It’s cute.  Let them be in their honeymoon stage.” Ali sits down across the table.  “It also makes me feel younger cause this reminds me of them a few years ago.”

Heather sits down next to her, “Totally agree with that, but I have appreciated not walking in on you two in the past few months so let’s keep that up.”  She flashes them two thumbs up before picking up her fork.  “I’m happy for you two, just keep in behind locked doors,” she adds before starting to eat.

“Did we really get caught that often?” Alex quietly asks Tobin.

“No.  Like yeah we got caught a few times, like after a game and a roommate came back earlier than expected.  But there was a lot more, I don’t know,” she turns to Kelley.  “How would you describe it?”

“Hickies galore,” Kelley responds without skipping a beat.  Ali and Heather start laughing as Tobin buries her face in her hands.  Alex nods, her eyebrows scrunched together and running her fingers through her hair. “Oh and the messy hair after like a break or between dinner and team bonding,” Kelley adds.  “Seemed like good sex.”

Tobin pushes her plate away, crosses her arms on the table, and drops her head on top of them.  Alex glares at Kelley over Tobin’s head while mouthing ‘Be nice.’  She reaches her hand out and places it between Tobin’s shoulder blades, rubbing small circles.

“What?  I’m jealous.  You get good sex whenever you want.”  Tobin picks her head up and then lets it fall back down to her arms.  She repeats the action a few more times while Alex continues rubbing her back.

Tobin turns her head towards Alex, concern written all over her face.  “Tobs, don’t worry,” Alex soothes.  “We were together for a long time. I know we... did things.”  Alex leans down so her chin is resting on Tobin’s arm, only an inch away from her face.  “We’re going to take this at our own pace,” she whispers. “Don’t worry about anyone else, especially Kelley.  This is just you and me.  That’s all.”  She brushes the hair out of Tobin’s face then leans in, pecking her lips.  Tobin’s lips curl up and she follows Alex, keeping their lips connected for a moment longer.  

“Now eat your dinner so we can watch a movie and snuggle,” Alex insists as she pulls away.  Tobin pouts for a second but grabs her fork and continues eating.  Alex looks across the table at Ali and Heather who both smile fondly at her.  She smiles back before looking down at her food.

~~~

Alex  walks into the dark room with Allie, “I told you we were late,” Allie quietly insist.

“The movie just started,” Alex whispers back.

“It’s not like Tobin hasn’t seen all of your pajamas before.” Alex slaps her in the stomach as she looks around the full room for Tobin.  She spots her on the floor, leaning against the bed.  Alex steps over her teammates and stops next to Tobin.  She sits down and taps Tobin’s shoulder to make her lean forward.

Alex slides her body behind Tobin’s and leans back against the bed.  She brings her knees up on each side of Tobin.  Tobin leans back into her chest, resting her head on the forward’s shoulder and propping her arms up on her legs like they’re armrests. Alex drapes her arms over Tobin’s shoulder and her hands landing on top of Tobin’s.

The two watch the movie in silence, Alex pressing kisses against Tobin’s temple every few minutes.

~~~

“Goodbye America,” Tobin waves out the window as their plane leaves the ground.  

Christen looks over at her, shaking her head, “You are such a loser.”

Tobin pouts, “At least my dog is cuter than yours.”

“That’s not even close to true,” Christen defends.

“Is so.  Let’s ask someone.”  Tobin leans forward, looking around Christen to where Allie and Alex are sitting.  “Hey, Lex,” Tobin calls.

Alex turns as Christen complains, “That’s not remotely impartial.”

Tobin ignores her and smiles at Alex, “Presi thinks that her dogs are cuter than Norbs.  She’s wrong, right?”

“Of course,” Alex responds, “he’s 40 pounds of pure cuteness.”

Tobin turns to Christen, a huge grin on her face.  “See.”

Christen shakes her head.  “You cheated.  Not only did you ask your girlfriend but Alex is his other parent.”

Tobin shrugs and leans back, curling up with her pillow oblivious to Alex’s new facial expressions.

~~~

Alex slides into the seat next to Tobin as they wait to board their final plane to Belo Horizonte.  “Can we talk?”

“Uh oh,” Tobin jokes.  “Breaking up with me already?”

“No, no, no,” Alex quickly says.  “It’s about what Christen said earlier.”

Tobin looks at her confused.  “About Norbie?”

“No.” Alex looks around the semi crowded airport before leaning closer.  “About me being your girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Tobin turns serious.   “I didn’t tell her that.  I think she just assumed but I can go tell her she’s wrong if you want.”

“Tobin,” Alex says, restraining herself from reaching out.  “I want her to be right.  We just never talked about it.  Are you my girlfriend?”

“You want her to be right?” Tobin repeats quietly.  Alex nods with a smile. Tobin mimics the smile.  “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

Alex grins, “So is that a yes?”  Tobin nods enthusiastically.  “Ugh, I wish I could kiss you too.  When we get back to Portland can we talk about going public.  It doesn’t have to be right away but I just want to talk about it.”

Tobin’s smile grows, “Of course.”  Tobin digs her phone out of her pocket when it vibrates. She opens the message then turns to her phone to Alex.  “He’s getting so big,” she says with a pout.

Alex looks at the picture of Norbert laying paws up on the couch at her parents house.  Alex pulls the phone out of Tobin’s hand when she notices the texts above the photo and starts scrolling through them.  “Oh my God.  My mom totally likes you more than me.”

Tobin grins, “What can I say?  I know how to charm the Morgan women... and your dad I guess.  Your sisters love me.  That’s the real reason Jeri is coming down.  Told me she missed me. ”

“That’s bull,” Alex laughs.  “I invited her.”

“She said you were just an added bonus.  I’m the main attraction.”  Tobin wiggles her eyebrows.

Alex bumps her shoulder with Tobin’s.  “Oh, so maybe you want her to be your girlfriend instead?”

Tobin shrugs, “She turned me down already.  Same with Jen.  You were my last choice.  Well your dad said,” Tobin laughs, “if it wasn’t for your m-”

Alex slaps at Tobin.  “Eww. Stop,” Alex stands up but Tobin grabs her wrist before she can walk away.  Alex turns around and looks at her.

“I really wish we were alone right now.” Tobin smiles and drops Alex’s arm.  Alex smiles back and walks away.

~~~

“Damn,” Tobin lets out as she gets her first look at their practice field for the next few days.  Her eyes lit up even more by the lights illuminating the field.

Kelley turns to her and starts laughing.  “You see that look?” she says to Mallory pointing at Tobin.  “That’s normally the look she gets before her and Alex disappear.  If you ever see that look stay away from both of their rooms.”

Tobin turns to Kelley, cocking her head to the side, eyebrow raised.  “I hate you,” she says before walking over to the bag of balls to start juggling.

~~~

Alex slips her key into the door, walking in. “Allie?  You ready?”

She finds Bati, instead of Allie, laying on the midfielder’s bed.  “She’s just brushing her hair.”

“Oh,” Kelley wiggles her eyebrows.  “Was it messy?  It seemed fine at breakfast.”  Bati laughs and slides his shoes on before standing up.

The bathroom door opens and Allie comes out with her hair in a ponytail.  Kelley and Alex turn and start laughing.  “Guess you messed it up so bad it was unsavable,” Alex jokes.

“What?” Allie asks as she grabs her phone.

Kelley moves closer to Allie, looking her over, then turning back to Bati.  “Good job.  Didn’t leave any marks.”  Alex and Bati laugh while Allie slaps at her.

“Let’s go,” Alex says, walking towards the door, “I’m hungry.”

They head out the door and towards the elevator.  “So where’s Tobin?” Bati asks as the doors slide open.

“I don’t know,” Alex answers.  “She wasn’t in her room when we stopped by earlier to ask and she wasn’t in the conference room.  My last guess was our room but that was obviously not the case.”  Alex pulls her phone out, “I’ll text her.”

**Lex: Hey where are you?  I’m going out for lunch with Allie, Kel, and Bati if you want to meet us**

Alex adjusts the backpack hanging over her shoulder as they move towards the hotel doors. Allie drops Bati’s hand as they see the fans waiting outside the door.

The three soccer players pose for photos and sign autographs before moving away.  Alex looks down at her phone while waiting to cross the street to see no new messages.  

They continue their five minute walk to the cafe Bati had scoped out and sit down.  Alex checks her phone again to no avail.

“So, Al,” Kelley starts, “do we need to make any new plans for you and Tobin or do you think you can handle it on your own?”

Alex looks up, “I think I’m good for now.  But thank you.”  Alex looks to Kelley and Allie.  “I was really freaking out and you two helped me a lot.  I don’t know if we would be dating if it weren’t for you two.”

Kelley wraps her arm around Alex’s shoulder and Allie reaches across the table.  “We would do anything to help you two out.” Allie says.

“Yeah that but I also say we could have made this whole thing take five minutes if you walked around naked.” Kelley thinks for a moment, “Well you guys normally took more than five minutes bu-”

Alex clamps her hand over Kelley’s mouth.  “You really need to get laid or something.”  Kelley pouts and nods in agreement.  Allie and Bati laugh as the waitress comes over.

Alex checks her phone repeatedly through lunch with the same result.  She finally feels her phone vibrate in her hand as they walk back into the hotel.

**Tobin: Sorry.  Left my phone in my room.  Heif asked me to do something for youtube then I had lunch here at the hotel. Are you still out?  I’m just going to change real quick then I can come meet you**

“You guys want to play settlers?” Kelley asks.

“I think I’m going to head upstairs.  I’ll see you guys later” Alex says, turning to the elevator without waiting for a response.

Allie and Kelley share a look before heading to the conference room, dragging Bati behind them.

Alex reaches Tobin’s door and knocks, adjusting the straps of her backpack nervously.  The door opens and Tobin smiles at her, “Hey.”

Alex steps into Tobin, pushing her back into the room with her lips and shutting the door behind them.  Once the door clicks shut, Alex pulls back, “I missed you.”

Tobin’s tongue darts across her bottom lip, tasting Alex’s chap stick.  “If that’s how you are going to greet me I might stay away more often.”

Alex forces Tobin into the wall next to the door, glaring into her eyes.  “Don’t you dare.”  Tobin’s eyes flick down to Alex’s lips as she adjusts her position against the wall.  Alex smirks and bows her head so her lips are next to Tobin’s ear.  “If you do, I won’t do this.” She brings her hand up, cupping the opposite side of Tobin’s face.  She then tilts her head so her lips brush against the skin below Tobin’s ear.  Tobin shutters and Alex takes it as a sign to keep going.  She lets her lips graze against Tobin’s jaw before dropping to her neck.  

Tobin tilts her head, exposing her neck more for Alex, her hands moving to Alex’s hips. A soft  
sigh escapes her lips as Alex runs her tongue up Tobin’s neck.  She congratulates herself while she slowly works her way to Tobin’s lips.  

Alex presses their lips together, daringly sliding her tongue past her lips and sliding it along Tobin’s.  She feels Tobin’s hands tighten their hold on her hips which only encourages her to continue.

Alex lets her fingers tangle with the hair at the base of Tobin’s skull.  She slides her tongue past her lips once more as well as Tobin’s.  She curls her tongue up, dragging it against the roof of Tobin’s mouth. Alex grips the hair in her hand as she uses her whole body to push Tobin harder against the wall. The low moan that vibrates against her lips almost beg her to do it again.  She pulls away and stops to admire Tobin.

Tobin pants slightly, her head resting against Alex’s cupped hand until her eyes begin to open, confused by the lack of touch.  The glaze coating her eyes slowly disappearing as she stares at Alex, “What?” she breaths.

“Nothing,” Alex responds, pecking Tobin’s lips.  “I just wanted to admire how beautiful you are.”  Tobin looks down, blushing.  Alex presses her hand to Tobin’s cheek to bring her face back up.  “Don’t look away.  If you look down you hide these lips,” Alex says brushing her thumb over Tobin’s bottom lip. “And I really like kissing them.” She smirks before adding, “Although your neck is nice too.”

Tobin gives a slight head nod, “Just remember, no marks.”  Alex nods and leans into Tobin’s lips.  Tobin slides her hands up Alex’s back, stopping when they meet resistance.  She pulls back and looks down to Alex’s torso.  “Why are you still wearing a backpack?”

Alex shrugs it off and places it down on the floor at their feet, “I just got distracted by your beauty.”

Tobin shakes her head, “Now you’re just laying it on thick.”

Alex shrugs, “Should I not find my girlfriend incredibly gorgeous?”

Tobin ignores the question and leans in, capturing Alex’s lips as an answer.  She places her hands back on Alex’s hips and forces them across the small entryway to the other wall.  Tobin brings a hand to Alex’s chin and tilts it up and away as her lips glide across her neck.

Alex’s hand slides behind Tobin’s neck, holding her tight against her skin.  Her eyes droop and she throws her head back farther pushing her torso off of the wall and into Tobin’s.  Tobin lets her teeth drag along Alex’s jaw. She pulls away just enough to press her lips against Alex’s. Her lips part slightly, sucking Alex’s bottom lip into her mouth.  Alex uncontrollably grinds her hips against Tobin letting out a low moan.  

Tobin releases Alex’s lip and opens her eyes.  She quickly takes a step back, dropping her hands from Alex and looks down.  “I...I... need a break.  Sorry.”

Alex hesitantly takes a step forward.  “Are you okay?”

Tobin looks up and nods, “It’s...I want to take things slow and it’s,” Tobin blushes and shoves her hands in her pockets.

“Oh.  Sorry. That was all kind of uncontrollable,” Alex softly says, reaching out to grab one of Tobin’s hands.

“No.  It’s not your fault.  I kinda knew that was going to happen,” Tobin mumbles embarrassed.  “I shouldn’t have done that.  I just got caught up in the moment and...yeah.  I’m sorry.”

Alex blushes and tilts her head down, looking at Tobin through her eyelashes.

Tobin continues, “It’s been awhile since I’ve...we’ve...I’ve you know.  I want it to be special.”

Alex leans closer, “And it will be”

Tobin chews on her lip and meets Alex’s eyes.  “You’re hot.”

“Thank you,” she responds with a confused chuckle.

“I wasn’t sure if I could control myself,” Tobin embarrassingly admits.

Alex wraps her arms around Tobin’s neck, “Want to go downstairs and hang with the team?”

Tobin nods, wrapping her arms around Alex’s middle and hugging her tightly.  “Thank  
you.”

Alex kisses Tobin’s cheek before disengaging to pick up her backpack.  “Let’s go.”

~~~

Tobin walks into breakfast, spotting Meghan sitting at a table, facing away from the door.  Tobin sneaks over, her finger held up to her mouth.  Alex smiles as she spots Tobin place her hands over Meghan’s eyes.

Tobin makes her voice high pitched to disguise it, “Guess who.”

“Um, Moe,” she guesses.

Morgan looks up from her breakfast.  “I’m sitting on the other side of the table from you, loser.”

“Shut up or I won’t share my macs with you.”

“Not like you were going to share them anyways,” Morgan grumbles.

Tobin drops her hands, “Well that was no fun.”  She claps Meghan’s shoulders, “Happy birthday, dude.  Lucky you, we have the stadium walkthrough today.”

Meghan turns in her chair, looking up at Tobin, “It was all planned that way, duh.”

Tobin shakes her head, patting Meghan’s shoulder once more before walking to Alex.  “Good morning.”

“Hey,” Alex responds.  “Want to sit with me?”

“Sure.  Let me just go get food,” Tobin responds, moving behind Alex, and kissing her cheek.

“I don’t get a real one?” Alex whines.

Tobin looks around, “Later.” She places her hand on Alex’s shoulder, “Promise.”

~~~

Tobin stands with Ali, Crystal, and Meghan on the field as their teammates wander around the grass.  Megan runs up to them, “Don’t move.  We need a full team picture.”  She then jogs off to gather the rest of the team.

Alex comes up behind them draping her arm over Tobin, quietly asking “Can we get a picture?”

“Of course,” Tobin responds.  She brings her arm around Alex lower back and Alex pulls her phone out.  She gets the camera set up and holds her arm out.  Tobin tilts her head into Alex beaming.  Alex takes a few pictures.

As they are looking through them Tobin asks, “Can you maybe send that to your mom?  She was asking for a picture and I keep forgetting.”

Alex chuckles, “Of course.”

“Alright, love birds,” Megan interrupts with the rest of the team behind her, “let’s break it up.”  She turns to the rest of the team. “Okay ya crazies, get close.  Act like you like each other.”  

Megan crouches, holding her phone out.  Alex keeps her hand tight around Tobin’s waist as they both lean forward.  “Kriegs lean in more,” Megan directs, while Emily barks out a laugh and starts digging in her pocket for her phone.  “Okay, perfect. One, two, three.”

After the photo is taken Emily calls out, “I got a great shot of you Pinoe,” holding out her phone, showing the photo of Megan’s butt partially exposed.

“Selfie stick photo,” Sam calls out trying to get the team behind her.  Tobin wraps her arms around Meghan’s neck, smiling up at the camera.  Alex hooks her finger into Tobin’s pocket to pull her slightly closer.

“Damn we look good,” Crystal says as Sam snaps the photo.

~~~

Alex sits inside her locker, going through her pregame ritual.  Tobin sits on the chair in front of her locker, watching Alex while her fingers play with the two rings around her neck.

Alyssa leans over as she tapes her fingers.  “You doing okay?” she asks.

Tobin nods, “Yeah.  This is just her first  major tournament since the accident.  I’m worried about her but at least any questions they ask about the past will probably be from London and she remembers that.”

“Tobs.  She can handle it.”

“I know.  I just always worry about her,” Tobin sighs.

“That’s what love is.  But right now focus on the game. You can focus on Alex tonight when you’re celebrating our win.” Alyssa laughs as she stuffs her tape back into her bag.

Tobin playfully shoves at the keeper, “We weren’t that bad.”

“I never walked in on you guys so I’m not positive,” Alyssa jokes as she pulls her gloves out.

~~~

Less than ten minutes into the game Tobin fakes out one defender before side stepping a second and sending the ball into the box.  She sends it right to Carli who uses her head to send into into the back of the goal.

At the start of the second half the ball bounces around their attacking third, ending at Alex’s feet.  Tobin runs towards the center of the goal as Alex pulls her left foot back.  She sends the ball near post right under the diving keeper.  Tobin races around to the growing group of people congratulating Alex.  She comes up behind her, jumping as she wraps her arms around Alex and Meghan, nuzzling her face into Alex’s back.  She lets go howling and pumping her fists.  She hugs Mallory and turns to hug Alex but Kelley beats her to it.  Tobin high fives Carli instead.  That all start jogging back to their spots and Alex glances over to Tobin.  Tobin flashes her a smile and a thumbs up.   Alex smiles and claps her hands.

~~~

Alex follows Tobin as she walks over to their waiter. Tobin reaches into her pocket and pulls out a box of sparklers.  Alex tilts her head disapprovingly, “Where did you get those?”

Tobin smirks as she pulls one out and introduces herself to the waiter.  “So it’s our friend’s birthday.  We were wondering if you could bring her out some desert with this lit on top.”

“That’s not dangerous right?” he asks.

“No.  She just won’t be able to blow it out,” Tobin explains, slipping the sparkler back into the box and handing them over.  “I have a lighter too if you need it.”

“Of course you do,” Alex mumbles as Tobin digs into her pockets.

Once Tobin finishes working everything out they walk back to the table.  “You’re evil.  You know that right?”

Tobin shrugs, “It’ll be fine.”

They slide into their seats.  “It’s Kelley.  When is anything fine?  She’s just going to try to get back at you.”

“This is me getting back at her.”

“For what?” Alex asks, confused.

Tobin rubs her chin, “Hmm.  I don’t actually remember, but she does stuff often so I’m sure there is something.”

Alex rubs Tobin’s upper leg under the table, “If I get caught in her revenge plot, you’re going to to be sorry.”  Alex digs her nails lightly into Tobin’s skin while flashing her a sweet smile to drive her point home.

~~~

Tobin wanders down into the lobby looking for Alex. She smiles when she hears music and follows the sound.  She finds a band playing while part of the team tries to dance and a woman in front of them directing them.  Tobin spots Alex among her teammates and she decides to stay and watch. She leans against the wall behind the band, trying not to laugh at her teammates attempting to learn to salsa.  Her eyes are mostly fixed on Alex as her hips sway with each step or misstep.

Alex looks up after a while and smirks at Tobin, beckoning over with her head for the midfielder to come join but Tobin waves her off, staying rooted against the wall.  Alex starts to exaggerate each sashay of her hips, eyes pointed right at Tobin.  

Their lesson ends and after a group picture Alex is directed in front of a camera.  Allie walks over to Tobin.  “I think you two are worse now than you used to be,” she complains as they look to Alex who is happily talking to the camera.

Tobin shrugs, “I’m not complaining.”

“Of course you’re not.  Just remember there are cameras everywhere.  Be careful where you give her the sex eyes.” Tobin shakes her head and Allie walks away.

Tobin pulls out her phone, texting her parents while she waits for Alex to finish.

“Texting my mom again?” Alex asks, plucking the phone out of Tobin’s hand and skipping away.

“My mom actually,” Tobin replies as she slowly follows Alex to the elevators.  

When Tobin catches up Alex hands the phone back.  “Have you told your parents about us?”

Tobin nods, “Yeah.  I called them before we left.  After we kissed.  They miss you.”

They step into the elevator alone and Alex looks over at Tobin as she types out a text.  “When was the last time you saw them.”

“My parents?” Tobin asks, looking up.  Alex nods. “Um, I had lunch with them when we had our Pride game like a month ago.”

“Okay but that’s like a few hours.  I know you like to spend more time than that with them.  When was the last time you _really_ saw them and not because you were there for soccer.“

“Um early November before we went to your parents for Thanksgiving.  We were going to spend the time between the game and Christmas with them but…” Tobin shrugs, checking her phone as it vibrates again.

“...but we spent it in a hospital,” Alex finishes for her.  “We could have gone there before the Kansas game.  That’s where Ash and Ali were training.  Your parents could have watched Norbert.”

Tobin nods, mumbling, “Yeah but you suggested your parents first and Dawn was there.”

Alex turns her body fully to Tobin as the doors open and Tobin steps out, tapping out another text.  Alex follows  and calls after her, “Tobin?”

Tobin presses send on her text before looking back at Alex, “Yeah?”

“You didn’t have to come to L.A. with me or we could have both gone to Florida.  I would’ve loved to go see your parents.” Alex places her hand on Tobin’s bicep.  “I know how much your family means to you.”

”You mean a lot to me, too,” Tobin softly replies, staring into her blue eyes.

Alex looks up and down the hallway to make sure they are alone.  She throws her arms around Tobin’s neck, pulling her in tightly for a kiss.  The force of Alex throwing herself sends Tobin into the door behind her.  Tobin quickly arches her back and lets out a pained moan. She pulls her lips from Alex’s “Ow,” she groans.  “Door knob.”

“Oh my God.  Are you okay?” Alex asks quickly taking a few steps back.

Tobin rubs her back, “Yeah,” pain evident in her voice. “I’ll be good.”

The door behind them slowly opens.  They both turn to see Mallory rubbing her eyes and yawning, a dark room behind her.  “What’s up?”

“Sorry kiddo.  Didn’t know you were sleeping” Tobin quickly covers. “We forgot you were still a young child that needs naps.”

The young forward shakes her head, “I was your roommate for a week. You take more naps then I do.”

Alex laughs as Tobin wraps her arm around Mallory’s neck and rubs the top of her head with her knuckles until Mallory reaches her arm up around Tobin’s back and starts tickling her side.  Tobin quickly lets go and steps behind Alex, using her as a shield.

Mallory pulls her hair into a ponytail and asks, “Now that I’m awake, what’s up?”

Tobin gives her a confused look, “Nothing.  You opened the door as we happened to be walking by.  You’re trying to get in on our plans.”  Tobin turns and starts walking away.

Alex looks after her confused as Tobin disappears into one of the team rooms.  She turns back to Mallory, “I think there are a bunch of people hanging out in the snack room.  Want to come?”

“Yeah.  Let me just grab my key.”  She disappears for a moment before popping back out.  

The two follow Tobin’s path to the snack room.  “So how’s your ankle doing?”

“Still a bit of pain when I run.  Jill said she’ll probably rest me for France.”

~~~

Kelley sends the ball from midfield to the top of the box.  Alex jumps up, trying to get her head on it but it skims right over to land at Morgan’s feet.  She quickly passes it to Whitney who passes it back as defenders rush her.  

Tobin calls for the ball from the corner of the 18.  Morgan passes the ball into the wide open space in front of Tobin.  Tobin takes a light touch with her left foot, settling the ball before she pulls her left foot back and sends it near post.  France’s keeper dives and is able to get her fingertips on it.  The ball ricochets off the post and bounces in front of the goal right into Carli’s feet.  She awkwardly sends it back towards the open net to score the game’s lone goal.

Tobin backtracks  and when she ses Carli heading right for her she starts stamping her feet and clenching her fists with excitement.  Carli and Morgan both jump on her  starting the pile around her.  Crystal quickly joins the hug as Allie, Meghan, and Alex all jump into the pile.

“Yes, Tobs,” Alex shouts, looking across the pile at Tobin whose arms are firmly wrapped around Carli’s center. Alex reaches out trying to get to Tobin but is only able to brush her fingers against the midfielder’s shoulder.  Alex is finally able to pat Tobin on the back as they head back to their spots.

Once the final whistle blows Alex makes her way around the field shaking hands with the other team.  She then joins the team, sitting down next to Whitney to stretch.  Once she’s done stretching, Alex heads towards Tobin but is beat to her by Heif.  She stops next to her as Heif starts pointing off field towards the NBC camera.  He starts leading her to the sideline and Alex pats Tobin on the back.  She looks over and smiles at Alex.  

“That was a great shot you had.  Sorry it didn’t go in,” Tobin offers.

“Me?  What about your shot. That was amazing.  That was so close to going in.”

Tobin shrugs, “Carli got it in.”

Heif turns and points to where Carli is shaking hands with someone.  “Okay you’re going to be right after Carli.”  Tobin nods and walks away from the two as Carli starts her interview, continuing to drain her water bottle into her mouth.  Tobin smirks as she hears Carli talking about her. She looks over to Alex who is walking towards the locker room.  She flashes a thumbs up and winks before fully turning to head into the locker room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you guys liking this and their relationship? Hopes/Predictions for what is going to happen...


	24. Heartbreak in Brazil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make the Sweden game as painless as possible but it might still sting a little.

The morning after the game Tobin knocks on Alex’s door, tapping out a rhythm until she hears the locks on the other side of the door being undone.  The door is pulled open and Alex stands on the other side, dressed in her travel clothes. “You really know how to be annoying.”

Tobin smiles, leaning in to give Alex a quick kiss.  ”Ready for breakfast?”

”Almost.  Just give me few minutes.” Tobin nods and smiles at her.  When Tobin doesn’t move, Alex shakes her head and asks, “You want to wait inside?”

“Oh right,” Tobin says walking in.  Alex walks into the bathroom, closing the door while Tobin walks to where Allie is trying to zip up her suitcase.  She falls back onto Alex’s bed, her feet swinging off the end.  She starts humming and strumming an imaginary guitar, closing her eyes.

Allie kneels on top of her bag, finally getting the zipper to move.  She then turns to Tobin, “You good?”

“Yeah,” Tobin sighs, lowering her air guitar, “just tired.”

“Is that why you weren’t hanging out with Alex last night?”  Allie asks, sitting next to Tobin who shrugs as a response.  Allie looks down at her confused, “How are you two doing, Tobs?”

Tobin turns her head towards the bathroom door to make sure Alex isn’t coming out, before turning back to Allie. “I’m just really scared this isn’t going to work out.”

“But everything seems to be going okay so far,” Allie responds confused.  “At least that’s what I thought.”

“It has been.”  Tobin moves her head to Allie’s lap.  She pulls the rings out from under her shirt and sticks a pointer finger through each. “I’m just still not sure if she wants to be with me because _she_ wants to be with me or because she _thinks_ that’s what she wants,” Tobin mumbles.

“Oh-kay,” Allie draws out confused.  “I really don’t think that’s the case, but if you’re still thinking that, then why did you agree to start dating again?”

Tobin twirls the rings around her fingers for a few seconds before responding.  “I want to be with her.  I want to be wrong.  I want us to work out.  I couldn’t hold back anymore.  I’ll do anything for her, but I’m terrified that she’s going to break my heart.”

Allie places her hand on Tobin’s head lightly running her nails through her hair. “You need to talk to her about this, Tobin.  Keeping this bottled up isn’t good,” Allie says softly.

Alex leans against the partially opened door frame.  She chews on her lip for a moment before forcing a smile onto her face. She makes a loud showing of opening the door further and joins the other two near the beds.  She collects her room key and holds out her hand for Tobin to sit up.  “Ready?”

Tobin half smiles and nods her head.  She tucks the rings back into her shirt, taking the offered hand.  “After you.”

Instead of moving towards the door, Alex tugs on Tobin’s hand, pulling her closer until their chests are touching.  Alex brings her opposite hand up to Tobin’s cheek.  Her fingers curl into Tobin’s jaw and pull her in forcefully.  She tilts her head as their lips connect.  She starts moving her lips against Tobin’s, trying to put as much feeling as she can into it.  

Allie clears her throat to no avail as Alex tangles both hands in Tobin’s hair, causing the midfielder to let out a soft moan.  Tobin’s hands find and pull at Alex’s hips, holding her flush against her.  Alex sucks Tobin’s lip into her mouth, running her tongue over it before pulling back, Tobin’s lip coming with her.

Tobin’s hands slowly start working up Alex’s side, her shirt riding up slightly as they do.  Unable to take it anymore, Allie clears her throat louder.  “Okay.  Gross.  I’m right here,” she gags.

Alex releases Tobin’s lip and pulls away slightly, watching Tobin’s eyes slowly open.  Tobin tries to even out her breath and flashes a small smile before she drops her head onto Alex’s shoulder and her arms wrap around Alex’s waist, not ready to let go.

Allie gives Alex a look over Tobin’s bowed head, silently asking ‘What the hell?’  Alex’s sad eyes answer her question.  Allie claps her hands twice, getting Tobin’s attention.  She turns her head to rest her cheek against Alex’s shoulder.  “Let’s go,” Allie prompts, pushing the two towards the door.  “I don’t really have an appetite anymore but we still need to go.”

~~~

Alex can hear Tobin arguing with Sam over whatever game they are playing a few rows back.  She shakes her head before pulling her eye mask down to try and get some sleep on the two hour flight.  Her nap lasts halfway through the flight when they hit some turbulence.  Alex stands up and stretches before moving to the bathroom.  She passes Tobin, who has her face buried in a surfing magazine.

As she returns to her seat, Alex stares down at her feet to avoid looking at Tobin.  When she reached her seat, she notices that Allie is no longer next to her.

“Well, hello. You dyed your hair.” Alex states as she rests her hand on Tobin’s thigh.  

Tobin laughs and sets her magazine down. “Can you actually imagine me as a blonde?  I still find it funny when I see pics of you as a blonde.”

Alex squeezes Tobin’s leg, “Be nice.  I looked good as a blonde.”

“Oh, I’m not denying that.  You always look amazing,” Tobin softly says, starting to lean in, forgetting they are on a crowded plane.  

A cough causes both of them to turn toward the window seat.  They find Kelley staring at them, her face still covered in the crease marks caused by her pillow pushing into her face.  “I wake up to dirty talk,” Kelley yawns, “and I don’t like being this close to the people doing it unless it’s directed at me.”

Tobin looks to Alex, winking before turning back to Kelley.  She picks up the armrest separating them and sliding closer, Alex’s hand falling from her leg.  She puts her arm around Kelley’s shoulder and leans down to whisper into her ear.  “Alex doesn’t remember this but after Abby’s last game we were going to ask you if you’d want to join us.”  Kelley starts choking on air as Tobin pulls away laughing hysterically.

Once Kelley regains her ability to speak, she looks between Tobin and Alex, face beet red.  Her eyes settle on Tobin as Alex wears a confused expression.  “You’re just messing with me, right?  That’s...that’s not true.”

Tobin winks and shrugs, “You’re wild in general.  We wanted to see if that pertains to _all_ aspects of your life.”  Tobin reaches over, interlocking her fingers with Alex’s and bringing them to her lips.  

Kelley quickly stands up, eyes wildly searching the plane for an empty seat. Finding none, she calls three rows back to Becky, “Becky, switch with me.”

Becky barely looks up from her book and shakes her head.  She waves her hand for Kelley to sit down before turning the page.

Kelley slumps back into her seat, her bottom lip protruding. Tobin places her hand on Kelley’s thigh, causing the defender to jump.  Tobin slowly slides her hand up her leg.  Kelley presses herself up against the window, trying to move as far away from Tobin’s hand as possible.

Tobin starts laughing again.  “Sorry, Kel.  That was just too easy.”  

Kelley glares at Tobin before leaning around her to talk to Alex, “Control your woman.”

Tobin turns to Alex who is wearing a tight frown. “Are you done hitting on Kel?”  Tobin glances back at Kelley before shrugging and nodding, the smile that was on her face falling away.  Alex continues,  “Good.  At some point tonight, can we talk?”

Tobin’s eyebrows scrunch together as she nods again. “Yeah, why?”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Alex replies vaguely, her expression unreadable.

Tobin leans in closer, whispering into Alex’s ear, “You know I was kidding right?  Just messing with her?”

Alex takes in Tobin’s worried expression. “That’s not what this is about, but in the future, hitting on other people, even as a joke, is not going to fly.”  Alex is able to keep her expression serious for a moment before it dissolves into a smirk and she continues, “If I’m remembering correctly, from what you’ve told me, I get jealous pretty easily.” Tobin nods, eyes on Alex’s lips. “That hasn’t changed,” Alex slowly draws out, very aware of where Tobin’s eyes are, “and I will kill a bitch.”

Tobin chuckles and interlocks their fingers.  “You’re my one and only, Lex.  I lo-”  Tobin cuts herself off, ‘ _Shit_ ’ blushing as she runs her fingers through her hair.  “I only want you,” she corrects before turning to look down at her magazine, letting her hair fall to curtain her face from Alex.  

Alex can’t keep the smile off of her face as she watches Tobin flip through her magazine.  She looks to Kelley to see if she heard but Kelley has her headphones on.  She leans back in her seat, smiling at the back of Tobin’s head.

~~~

After their post dinner team meeting, Alex moves to where Tobin is talking with Heather and Ashlyn.  She stands a few feet away for a minute before breaking into their circle.  “Tobs, can we talk now?”

Tobin turns to her, “Yeah.  I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Alex says goodnight and then leads Tobin out of the room.  They first head to each of their rooms but find them occupied by their roommates.  “Do you want to just take a walk?” Tobin offers as they walk out of the training room where Carli and Hope are getting massages.

Alex nods and leads Tobin out a back door.  After a few quiet minutes of walking down the street, they come across an open area with benches and sit down.

“So what’s up?” Tobin asks.

“I heard you this morning,” Alex responds, “talking to Allie.”  Tobin’s eyes drift up, trying to recall the conversation.  “About our relationship,” Alex fills in for her, her voice starting to rise.

“Oh...” Tobin says, as she rubs her hands dry on her jean shorts.  “I’m sorry.”

“Tobin, I’m trying,” Alex begs. “I don’t know what else I can do to show you how much I’m in this.  If you’re having doubts, why won’t you talk to me about them?  I can try to help you get rid of them.”  

She stands up, unable to sit still.  Tobin reaches out and grabs her wrist, stilling her before she can start pacing.  Alex doesn’t sit again but stands still in front of Tobin, locking eyes with her.

“I’m seriously sorry.  I just,” Tobin lets out a long sigh, trying to find the right words.  “I just don’t see how you could pick me twice.  I guess it’s insecurities or something, but I don’t want it to affect us.  I’m trying not to let it.”

Alex brings her hands up to her head, the heels of her hands digging into her temples.  “Tobin. I got a fucking dog with you,” she sighs, lowering her arm and clenching her fists.  “I never moved out. I’ve basically chased after you each step of our relationship. I know that nothing about any of our relationship is normal anymore and I know this is hard for you but I need you to give me a break.  I need you to have some faith that we can last,” Alex slowly takes in a breath and lets her hands relax by her sides.  Her voice becomes slightly calmer as she continues, “and when you’re second guessing that, I need you to come talk to me.” She turns her head and uses the sleeve of her shirt to wipe sweat from the side of her face.

Tobin stands up, looking apologetic.  Alex starts pacing in front of the her so she doesn’t have to see the hurt in her eyes.  “I know we have a lot going on,” turn, “and I don’t want this to be a distraction,” turn, “so if we need to table it until,” turn, “we get home then we can.” She stops, her back to Tobin.  “But I just need you to know that I am in this.” Alex bows her head, but confidently says, “The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you.”

Tobin places her hand on Alex’s shoulder and turns her around.  Alex looks down to her feet, unable to meet her eyes just yet while Tobin apologizes again. “I’m sorry.  I’m probably not going to be able to shake this feeling for a while but I’ll try.  I’ll try to talk to you more, too.”

“I guess that’s all I can ask for now,” Alex says softly.

“Can I give you a kiss?” Tobin asks, her voice barely above a whisper but filled with hope.  Alex looks up, a sliver of a smile crossing her face and nods once to give Tobin permission.  The midfielder brings her hands up to Alex’s cheeks before leaning in and lightly kissing her.  Alex smiles into the kiss before they both pull away.  

“Is there more?” Tobin asks.  Alex shakes her head.  “Cause we should get inside before Dawn makes us take an ice bath to cool off,” Tobin jokes as they start heading back, hands brushing as they walk next to each other.

~~~

Tobin is flipping through her bible when there’s a knock on the door.  She sets the book down and rolls out of bed.  She looks through the peephole and smiles.

“Who goes there?” she bellows.

Alex lets out a laugh, “Just open the door, loser.”

Tobin opens the door enough to stick her face through.  “Lucky for you, that’s the password,” she greets, opening the door further to let Alex in.  “Moe’s in the shower.”

Alex walks in, giving Tobin a kiss on the cheek as she walks by. and stops when she reaches the open part of the room.  “Seriously?” she asks, turning to Tobin when she sees the beds.  “Minion sheets?”

Tobin smiles, “They had to go out and buy us sheets yesterday and that’s what they found.  We’re not complaining.  It’s like we’re at summer camp.”  She slides past Alex and sits down on the edge of the bed near her pillow with a ‘17’ embroidered on the corner.

“Of course you’re not.” Alex looks around the room once more before her eyes settle on Tobin.  “So we’re alone... kinda.”

Tobin nods, “You’re very observant.”

Alex sits down on the bed next to Tobin.  “Last night, there was nowhere we could be alone.”

“You are correct again,” Tobin states, understanding what Alex is getting at.  Before she can say anything else, Tobin leans into the forward, connecting their lips.  She places her hand on Alex’s thigh to steady herself as Alex moves her hands to Tobin’s sides.

Alex daringly slips her fingers under the hem of Tobin’s shirt, her nails grazing Tobin’s skin.  Tobin jumps back in surprise, her breath catching in her throat.  Alex quickly pulls her hands away and places them in her lap. “Sorry,” Alex quickly apologizes, worrying she did something wrong.  “Was that not okay?”

Tobin shakes her head fiercely. “No, no, no,” she stutters.  “That was fine.  Better than fine.  I just wasn’t expecting it.  Didn’t know we were there yet.  Carry on.”

Alex smiles and moves to her feet.  She places two fingers on the center of Tobin’s chest and pushes, forcing her back into the pillows, her legs rising onto the bed.  Alex climbs on top of her, as Tobin reaches for her hips.  Alex quickly reconnects their lips and lets her tongue slip through her lips to dart along Tobin’s.

Alex shifts her weight onto one elbow while her other hand slides back down to Tobin’s waist and slips under her shirt.  Her fingertips slowly inch up Tobin’s warm side.  Tobin nibbles on her lip, causing her to lightly dig her nails into the skin covering Tobin’s ribs. Her chest arches up into Alex in response.

Tobin slides her hands around to Alex’s lower back, where her shirt has started to rise up.  Her fingers dance along the burning skin that is peeking out, starting to sneak under the loose fabric and up Alex’s spine.  She turns her head, moving her lips to Alex’s neck where the pulse underneath the skin beats quickly.  Tobin’s finger’s reach the lower band of Alex’s sports bra and lightly scratches her nail back and forth, never going higher After a minute, Tobin reluctantly drops her head back onto the pillow.  Breathing hard, she tucks a loose piece of hair around Alex’s ear.

Alex blushes under Tobin’s loving gaze and buries her head into the crook of the midfielder’s neck.  “Sorry.  You said slow and that was like the opposite.”

Tobin shakes her head, rubbing Alex’s back, “We’re good.”

Alex kisses the exposed skin between Tobin’s shoulder and neck.  “I just got caught up in the moment and...,” Alex bites her lip, moving to her elbows to look down at Tobin, “I’m sorry.”

The door to the bathroom opens and Alex quickly rolls off of Tobin, planting her feet on the floor and standing.  Morgan walks into the room, dressed with her towel over her head drying her hair.  Alex smirks and quietly moves behind her, quickly reaching out and grabbing her sides.

Morgan screams and flails, the towel still covering her face.  Tobin barks out a laugh from the bed and Morgan quickly reaches up to remove the towel from covering her face.  She turns to find Alex silently chuckling behind her and glares at both of them.  “I hate you both.  I’ll get you back.”

“No you won’t, Moe,” Tobin laughs as she starts to stand up.  “Come on.  Let’s go get lunch.  I’m starving.

~~~

The three walk into the meal room that is already half filled by their teammates and staff.  As soon as the door closes behind them, Alex’s hand finds Tobin’s and she locks their hands together.  The room is uncharacteristically somber with most eyes turning to them as they head to the table full of food but the staring goes unnoticed as Tobin jokes with Morgan and Alex looking on.  

Heif meets them there before they are able to pick up their plates.  “Can I talk to you two?” he asks Tobin and Alex.  

The two share a look before turning back to him nodding.  They follow him to an empty table in the corner of the room and sit down.  “So what’s up, Heif?” Tobin asks nervously.

“So I know from speaking with you, Alex,” he starts, looking to Alex, “that you wanted to keep your relationship under wraps until after the Olympics.”

“Yeah,” Alex draws out, worried.

“Well, today I have received numerous interview requests for both of you.”

“How do you know it’s about our relationship?” Alex asks with a sliver of hope that it’s about something, anything else.

“There are pictures,” he answers, “supposedly from last night.  I believe they ori-”

“Let me see them,” Tobin quickly demands and holds her hand out. He sighs and pulls his phone out.  After a minute of tapping, he hands it across the table and Tobin snatches at it.  “Are you fucking kidding me,” she says loudly as she quickly scrolls through the photos gaining the attention of the whole room.  She hands the phone to Alex, turning to Heif, “You can barely tell that’s us.”

“They were obviously taken from far away and not with a good camera,” Heif says carefully, trying to sooth her.  “But your names were attached to the pictures and once they have that it’s hard to dispute.  It’s definitely you two.”

Alex looks down again at the photos that were taken of them last night when they thought they were alone. The first of Tobin reaching out, holding Alex’s wrist as she seems to be trying to walk away, looking angry.  Then of one where it looks like she is wiping tears from her eyes. The third is of Alex turned away, head bowed and Tobin grabbing at her shoulder.  The final picture shows the two of them kissing, while Tobin’s hands hold Alex’s face.

“I wanted to let you know before this got out of hand. I wasn’t there when these were taken, so I don’t know what was going on, but I’m pretty sure they are being taken out of context.”

Alex looks up from the phone, “What are they saying?”

Heif lets out a long sigh before answering, “This is mostly Twitter but it won’t take long before it’s picked up by something bigger.”

“It’s not like us being a relationship is all that shocking.  What are they saying?” Alex repeats her demand, setting the phone down.

Heif runs his hand through his thinning hair to buy himself time.  “They’re saying Tobin is manipulating you or forcing the relationship.”

“What?” Alex loudly interrupts, anger dripping from the sole syllable.  

“Most of those pictures you don’t seem super happy but then she kisses you,” he tries to explain.  “Whoever took these said you guys were in a fight and Tobin was forcing you to be there. A picture says a thousand words but more times than not the words aren’t the right ones.”

Alex looks over to Tobin, her anger immediately slipping away when she sees her girlfriend looking at the phone that is sitting on the table, the screen still showing the soft kiss they shared the night before.  Alex’s eyes then drift lower to where Tobin’s fingers mindlessly play with the rings through the fabric of her shirt.  “Tobs?” Alex quietly asks.

“Yeah,” Tobin barely gets out, not looking up.

Alex reaches a calming hand out, placing it on Tobin’s leg.  She then turns back to Heif. “Is there anything we can do?”

He sadly shakes his head, “The only thing we _can_ do is try not to make it worse.  You’re both good about keeping it professional so keep doing that.  Say no comment or direct them to me.  It will blow over eventually, but it’s going to come up.  The Olympics are going to put a big spotlight on this but we are going to try and get a handle on it.  Don’t let it be a distraction.  I’ll take care of everything, you two just worry about soccer.  If I could’ve, I wouldn’t have even told you.”

Alex nods, “Thanks for telling us and thanks for everything you are probably going to have to deal with.”  She picks up the phone and holds it out to him.  He looks to Tobin sadly as he takes it back and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder before walking away.  Alex turns back to Tobin, whose eyes remain glued to where the phone had been resting.  Alex turns Tobin in her chair so that she is at least facing her and puts both hands on Tobin’s knees. “You know none of what people are saying is true, right?”  Tobin nods her head, but still keeps her eyes low.  “And you know that no matter what anyone says, it’s not going to make me leave you or run away?”  Tobin nods again.

Alex moves her hands to the nape of Tobin’s neck, her fingers digging under the collar of the shirt and finding the silver chain.  She pulls on it, causing Tobin to let go and look up in confusion.  Alex pulls on the chain again, bringing it up and out of Tobin’s shirt and carefully places it back down.  Tobin looks down at the now visible rings and then to Alex.  “These aren’t something you need to hide.  Sure we’re not at the point where I’m ready to wear mine just yet but it’s something I see happening in the future.  This relationship is you and me.  Other people can go fuck themselves.” Tobin softly laughs and Alex smiles, “There’s my favorite smile.”  Alex leans in, kissing Tobin’s lips softly.  “Come on.  Let’s go eat.”  She grabs Tobin’s hand and pulls her over to the food.  

They get food and sit down at a table with Ashlyn, Heather, Whitney and Ali.  Ali quickly breaks the awkward silence that settles over the table.  “So you guys ready to go check out the stadium?”

Tobin shrugs, picking at her food.  Alex smiles at Ali, mouthing ‘thank you’ as she rubs Tobin’s back.  “It might be a little crazy with all the press, but hopefully we can just focus on soccer,” Alex says pointedly.

Heather puts her arm around Tobin’s shoulder. “We won’t leave you guys alone.  We’ve got your backs.”

Tobin turns her head towards Heather, leaning into the embrace.  “Thanks, dude.”  Heather smiles and looks over her to Alex who nods her appreciation.

Tobin eats her lunch quickly before glancing down at her watch.  She has about two hours until they leave for the stadium.  Alex looks over from her conversation with Whitney as Tobin stands up.

“Meet you up at your room?” she asks, her plate still half full.

“I was going to take a walk.  The river’s not super far away and I kind of want to explore.”

Alex’s face drops but she understands.  “Alright. Do you want me to come with you?”

“I- uh, don’t think that would be the best idea,” Tobin softly grumbles.  She sits back down, taking Alex’s hand.  “I would love for you to come with me, but I think we need to draw the least amount attention as possible.”

Alex brings Tobin’s hand up to her lips, “You’re right.  I’ll have my phone if you want to talk though.”

Tobin leans in kissing her cheek. “Thanks.  I’ll see you on the bus.”  

~~~

Alex lays across the couch and places her phone on her chest.  “Hey, Kel?”

Kelley looks up from the floor over the computer, “Hmm.”

“Why do people suck?” She looks up at the ceiling of the training room in their hotel.

The devilish look that crosses Kelley’s face goes unnoticed by Alex.  “I mean, at least for me, it feels good.  I’m pretty sure you like it, too.” Alex turns and glares at Kelley, who tries to keep a straight face.

It only lasts a few seconds as Kelley starts crack up.  “You’re horrible,” Alex groans.

“You love me anyways,” Kelley replies.

Alex rolls to her side, looking thoughtfully at Kelley, “On the plane yesterday, how much did you hear?”

“Of your dirty talk?” Kelley asks, confused.  “Luckily not too much.  Why?”

“No.  We weren’t saying anything dirty,” Kelley scoffs, “but after that.”  Kelley shrugs, so Alex continues, “I think she was about to say I love you, but caught herself.”

“Oh-kaay.  She does love you.  You know that, right?  She asked you to marry her and all.”

“I know, but I never really thought about it.”  Alex looks down at her dark phone, letting the silence take over the room.  She finally looks back at Kelley.  “How did it happen last time?”

Kelley sits up, crossing her legs underneath her.  “You know, I’m not actually sure.  I think I first heard you guys saying it a few months in but I never heard that story.  That might be something only Tobin knows.”

Alex sighs and turns her gaze back to the ceiling. A few minutes later Kelley breaks the silence.  “Seems like you’re not the only one thinking about love.”

Alex opens her eyes to find Kelley’s head turned at an awkward angle, looking at her computer screen.  “Huh?”

“Instagram,” Kelley says as a response.

Alex grabs her phone from where it rests on her stomach and turns it on, navigating to her Instagram.  She finds a photo uploaded by Tobin only a few minutes prior.  “Well, looks like she found a beach,” Alex comments while looking closer at the photo.  She turns her phone upside down, squinting, “The chain...does that say...?”

Kelley grins and nods, “Yep.”  Kelley glances back down at the picture Tobin posted of the small patch of sand in front of the large expanse of the Amazon River.  She tilts her head once more to read the letters spelt out by a chain lying in the sand, ‘ _Love_.’

“But we don’t know it’s about me.  It could be about the beach, or the water, or Manaus,” Alex guesses, eyes still on her phone.  “I mean that’s what she commented the picture as.”

“True.  It would have been a lot of chain to write ‘I love you, Manaus,’” Kelley jokes, giving Alex an ‘are you kidding me’ look.

Alex barely hears her as she smiles at her phone once more.  Kelley turns back to her computer when Alex is silent but looks back up when Alex asks, “Do you know how long it took for us to say it?”

Kelley slides the few feet to Alex, resting her head on the cushion next to Alex’s arm and looking up at her.  “I’m not sure.  A few months maybe.” Kelley wiggles her eyebrows, “Did you catch the love bug already?”

Alex whimpers, “I don’t know.”  She rolls onto her side, facing Kelley.  “I loved her as a friend then...  I don’t really know what happened.  I’m not sure if I’ve changed or just she has because she’s seen me naked.”

“Al, we’ve all seen you naked.” Kelley deadpans.  “Besides, you’ve seen her naked, too.”  

“It’s not the same and you know it,” Alex counters.  “Also we’ve been pretty good at avoiding being naked in front of each other or not looking since we got back together.”

“So I’ve noticed.  You guys don’t stare at each other’s naked bodies in the locker room anymore.  Trust me when I say the whole team is sooo happy for that,” Kelley laughs.  Alex takes the pillow from behind her head and hits Kelley with it causing the laughing to just grow louder.

~~~

Tobin and Alex keep a large distance between them and put on happy faces for the cameras during the stadium walkthrough.  Heather sticks to Tobin’s side while Kelley sticks to Alex’s.  They both keep them away from the few people with cameras wandering the field.  Tobin has her rings tucked inside her shirt, and her hand continues to pat them throughout the hour as an assurance that they are still there.  

Alex squeezes her shoulder as she walks by her on the bus and sitting in the seat behind her.  She leans forward, “See.  We’re good.  Everything’s okay.”

Tobin nods, turns and leans around her seat, pressing her lips against Alex’s.  Carli clears her throat from above them.  They both look up at her embarrassed.

Carli raises her eyebrows and they both move out of the aisle so she can pass.  Carli stares down at them, her face softening. “I’m sorry that those photos were leaked.  Don’t let it be a distraction.”

“We won’t,” Tobin responds, reaching back and squeezing Alex’s leg.  “We’re ready for tomorrow.”

~~~

Tobin walks out of the tunnel with Alyssa, both looking around at the filling stadium.  They move to the bench, sitting in two middle seats.  Julie walks over with Meghan and Mallory, sitting down next to Alyssa.  Tobin leans around Alyssa.

“Kling you’re ruining our look,” Tobin complains.  

“Why? Cause my hair is perfectly styled unlike yours,” she fires back.

Tobin shakes her head, “No loser.  Your shoes.  You don’t match.”

“I don’t give into peer pressure like some people.  I’m a trendsetter.” She lightly rubs her hand over her hair.  “I fly.”

“You loser,” Tobin counters.

“Be nice,” Tobin hears from behind her.  

Tobin turns to see Alex staring at her from two seats away, waiting for Tobin to protest.  Tobin pouts and turns to Allie who is sitting in between her and Alex.  Allie shakes her head, “Nope.  I’m not getting in the middle of this.”  She holds her finger up as Tobin opens her mouth.  “Don’t you even dare make a joke about me sitting in the middle of you two right now.  This is only to help you two with the whole photo shit going on.”

~~~

Tobin intently watches the game from the bench, groaning when Colombia scores first on a free kick.  She claps her hands together trying to motivate her teammates on the field.

A few minutes before the half is called Christen slips a ball through the backline to a wide open Carli.  Tobin and her teammates on the bench stand up as Carli pulls her foot back and sends the ball towards the goal with the inside of her foot.  The Colombian keeper instinctively throws her hands up, deflecting the ball up. Tobin groans at the blocked shot still taking steps closer the field as the ball sails up.  She perks up when the ball bounces off the crossbar and back into play.  The ball bounces right in between two Colombian players right to Crystal who sends it back. This time the ball hits the back of the net.

“Yes, Crystal,” she shouts towards the field, pumping her fists at her side, “Yes!”

They head into the locker room at halftime, still tied.  Jill announces that Alex will be subbed in for Carli at the start of the second half to give the midfielder a rest.  She glances over to Tobin, an excited yet nervous smile lighting up her face.  Tobin flashes her a thumbs up from where she sits a few yards away.

Alex gets a few shots off but none of them finding the back of the net.  Tobin groans each time the ball doesn’t make it inside the goal.  She punches at Alyssa’s leg with excitement as they head into the final few minutes, leading by a goal thanks to Mallory.  Kelley commits a foul just outside the box.  Tobin whimpers as the ball is sent over everyone, curling into the goal.

The game ends tied at two goals a piece. Tobin heads into the locker room, changing right into her game day clothes without showering.  She slides her backpack on and heads to where Ashlyn and Heather stand.  “Can we go to the bus?”

Heather nods, “Of course.”  The three walk out the locker room doors towards the bus.  Heather leans over as they approach the media line, “Just keep walking.  We got this handled,” looking up to Ashlyn, “right?”

Ashlyn nods and flicks her sunglasses down even though it was dark outside.  She brings her arm up to her mouth, talking into her sleeve, “The ram is moving.”

Tobin pulls her headphones on as they get closer.  They aren’t even connected to her music but luckily they block out the sound of the reporters trying to get her attention.  She makes it onto the bus and heads straight to her seat.  She notices Heather isn’t with them when Ashlyn climbs up the stairs alone.  “Where’s HAO?” Tobin asks, turning to look out the window.

“She got pulled in by a reporter,” Ashlyn answers.  “She gave me a thumbs up, so I assume she’s good.”

Tobin nods, looking out the window one more time before setting up her music and turning up the volume to drown out her thoughts.  She closes her eyes and lets her mind focus on only the music.  

She feels Christen sit down next to her, not even opening her eyes she says, “Good game, Chris.”

Tobin feels her pat her leg a few times as thanks.  The patting stops but her hand rests on the inside of Tobin’s leg right above her thigh.  It slowly starts rubbing up her inner thigh and Tobin quickly grabs the hand, turning from the windows and opening her eyes.

She finds Alex sitting next to her, a large smirk across her face.  “You passed,” Alex says.  Tobin squints even more confused, pulling her headphones off.  “You passed,” Alex repeats.

“What did I pass?” Tobin asks.

“You stopped _Presi_ from feeling you up,” Alex responds loud enough for Christen to hear.

“What?” Christen asks from the seat behind them, shocked and leaning forward.  “Al, I never did that.  I thought we were okay?”

Alex laughs, “I know, Chris.  I was just messing with this one.”  Christen shakes her head at them and leans back, turning to Kelley.

Tobin sticks out her bottom lip, “Not cool.”

They sit in silence as the bus pulls away from the stadium.  Tobin goes to put her headphones back on but Alex reaches a hand out to stop her.  “Did you get stopped for interviews?”

Tobin’s hands fall and she shakes her head, “I put my headphones on and had Ash and HAO with me.  Why did you?”

“They tried but Heif was with me so we just kept going.  There were only two that I heard ask anything and both just wanted me to confirm that we were back together.”

Tobin chews on the inside of her cheek.  “Maybe it won’t be a big deal afterall,” Tobin hopes.  Alex nods in agreement but they both know that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

When they arrive at the hotel Tobin makes sure to let a few people pass after Alex stands before following them off the bus.

~~~

Alex and Tobin head up to Tobin’s room after most of the team heads to Kelley’s room to watch some other Olympic events.  Alex sits down on Tobin’s bed with Tobin sitting across from her on the other bed.

“So there’s been a lot of stuff on Twitter,” Alex states.

“Yeah.  I assume.  I haven’t actually been on,” Tobin admits, her phone spinning in her hand.

“How did we handle this last time?” Alex asks, unsure of what to say.

Tobin shrugs, “We didn’t really.  We just stopped hiding our relationship from the public.  We would hold hands in public and stuff and didn’t really shy from questions if asked.” Tobin reaches out across the space between the two beds and takes Alex’s hands.  “Soccer is a lot bigger now and it’s the Olympics.” She rubs her thumbs over the top of Alex’s hands.  “I’m fine with coming out to the public however you want either in a big way or no way at all but I really think it should wait until we get home.  In the past, we’ve been pretty good with not letting things be a distraction. I just want to keep it that way.”  

Alex pulls lightly on Tobin’s hands.  She gets the message and stands up, sitting down next to Alex and putting an arm around her shoulder.  Alex leans into her and gives her a kiss on her jaw before resting her head there.  Tobin smiles and leans down sliding her other arm under Alex’s legs.  In one swift motion, she swings Alex’s legs up and over her own and places Alex in her lap.  Alex grips Tobin’s shirt, surprised by the action.  Tobin wraps both arms around Alex’s waist to keep her from slipping off.

Tobin places her chin on Alex’s shoulder and looks up into her favorite blue eyes.  “You have no idea how much I missed this,” Tobin breaths.

The sincerity in her voice pains Alex.  “I’m sorry. I-”

“No,” Tobin cuts her off immediately.  “This isn’t your fault.  I didn’t say that to make you feel bad.  I just want you to know how happy it makes me to simply hold you in my arms.”

Alex smiles and brings her hand up to Tobin’s cheek.  “You make me happy,” she says before leaning down and softly pressing their lips together.  She pulls back only to slide her arms around Tobin’s neck and move back in, hugging her tightly.  The muscles in Tobin’s arms tighten as she takes a deep breath, taking in her girlfriend’s scent.

“Lex,” Tobin mumbles against Alex’s shirt.  

“Mmhm,” Alex responds, not releasing Tobin.

Tobin pulls away just enough to look into Alex’s eyes.  “You make me so happy.”

Alex moves one hand to Tobin’s cheeks and leans down.  She watches Tobin’s eyes close as their lips meet.  Her own eyes flutter closed as she continues to kiss Tobin lightly.  After a minute Tobin pulls away and smiles up at her.  Alex twirls a strand of Tobin’s hair around her finger.   

~~~

After the scoreless first half, the team heads into the locker room frustrated.  They regroup, trying to figure out how to get passed the wall of defenders.  They head out for the second half confident in themselves.

Less than twenty minutes into the second half Sweden scores on a long pass, breakaway.  Julie slides, trying to stop the shot but she’s too late as the ball flies past Hope’s outstretched fingers.

Fifteen minutes later, Tobin gets the ball on the wing, searching for someone open.  She sends a long ball into the box over Crystal’s head.  It bounces off the head of a Swedish defender right in front of Alex.  She is able to hold off her defender as she sticks her foot out, sending the ball into the back of the net.  She stands up and runs to Mallory who jumps on her.  Alex looks to Tobin who is celebrating with Meghan near midfield.  Their eyes lock and Tobin flashes her a smile.

The score stays tied through regulation, sending them into extra time.  Each team scores again, but both are called back. When extra time ends, the score is still tied at one goal a piece sending them into penalty kicks.

Tobin’s heart breaks as Alex’s ball hits against the gloved hands of Sweden's keeper.  It doesn’t break for the numerous reasons one would expect from a soccer player.  It breaks because she knows what is going through Alex’s head.  Not only did Tobin know what it was like to have a penalty blocked in such a high stakes game, but she knew Alex.  She could see the tears being blinked back and kept hidden.

She tried to give her some type of signal that it would be okay, but Alex went from looking down at her feet to above her teammates heads.  She chooses to stand on the opposite side of their team’s line of bodies in between Carli and Julie as Hope prepares herself for Sweden’s first kick.  

Hope shifts and guesses the wrong direction, the ball sailing into the net to her right.  Lindsey slots the next shot into the back of the net.  Hope guesses wrong again sending Sweden up 2-1.  Carli easily ties the score, sending the ball over the outstretched glove.  

Hope dives to her right, making contact with the ball and sending it up and over the bar.  Tobin claps for Hope, noticing out of the corner of her eye Alex visibly relaxing, a smile appearing on her face and clapping for Hope.

Morgan makes her penalty as does Sweden’s next kicker, leaving the game tied at 3 goals each with one kicker left for each team.  

Christen walks up to the spot setting the ball down before taking a few steps back, her eyes focused on the ball.  She runs in, not getting the right touch on it and sending it up over the crossbar and towards the stands.

After changing her gloves, Hope steps onto the line for Sweden’s fifth and final kicker.  She guesses the wrong direction and the ball slips by her easily into the net.  

Tobin watches as the Swedish team celebrates, her hands interlocking behind her head.  She slowly lets out the breath she had been holding since the ball was placed down.  Her eyes look around at her teammates in various states of shock, disbelief, and  dismay.  They land on Alex who has her hands on her cheeks.

They eventually all gather into a team circle before heading to the locker room.  Once out of view of cameras, Tobin moves to Alex, who is waiting for her in front of her locker.  Tobin strongly wraps her arms around the forward who tries to make herself as small as possible.

“It’s okay,” Tobin soothes, rubbing small circles. “I got you.  I got you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited for the next chapter so you should be too


	25. Coming Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had planned on posting this yesterday but I needed some time after that playoff game

“Are you sure this is okay?” Alex asks Tobin from where she sits on her girlfriend’s bed.

Tobin nods, stuffing the last of her toiletries into her suitcase.  “I’m just going to go see my parents for a few days.  I’ll be back in Portland before you even leave Brazil.”

“But shouldn’t I come see your parents, too?” Alex asks nervously.  

“You’ve met them before, Lex,” Tobin responds, not even looking up as she walks around the room to make sure she didn’t forget anything.

“But not as your girlfriend,” Alex pauses.  “Well, not that I remember.”

Tobin looks over, seeing the worry lines etched on Alex’s face.  She walks over and sits down next to Alex, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.  “You should go hang out in Rio with your sister and whoever else is staying.  That’s just not really my scene.  It’s going to be a ton of interviews where you have to talk about the loss and I don’t want to do that. But you’re going to have fun.  You’re much better in the spotlight then me.  I’ll see you when you get back. Then we can start working on securing our playoff spot.”  

“But are you sure?” Alex asks again, resting her head on Tobin’s shoulder.

Tobin chuckles and kisses the top of Alex’s head.  “Do I want you with me all the time?  Of course I do, but I can handle a few days.  I’ll have your dad with me anyways so it’s not like I’ll be alone.”

“See but I think that makes it worse.  My dad is going to go see your parents, and I’m not,” Alex whines.

“He hasn’t seen them in a while and wasn’t planning on being home for like another week so he had free time.  It will give me someone to talk to on the plane ride from Florida to LA when we leave.”

Alex nods sadly, burying her face into Tobin’s collar bone.  “This is the longest we’ll have been apart in a long time.”

“Just think about it this way,” Tobin offers.  “When you get home, you won’t even remember that you missed me.  You’ll be so happy that you get to see Norbs.”

Alex swings her legs into Tobin’s lap, looking up into the midfielder’s brown eyes.  “I won’t know who to kiss first,” she whines.

Tobin leans down and quickly connects their lips. “There.” Tobin leans back with a smile, proud of herself.  “There’s your kiss from me. Now you have to kiss him first.”

“Do you really think I won’t want more kisses from you?”  Alex asks rhetorically leaning forward into Tobin’s lips to initiate another kiss, this one, much longer than the last.

~~~

Allie puts down her phone and looks over at the other bed where Alex is sitting, joking with Megan and Crystal after their interview with Ryan Seacrest.  “Have you guys been on Twitter since the loss?”

The three look up confused.  “I tweeted something that night but not since then,” Alex responds.

Crystal shrugs, “Same basically.”

“I’ve been normal,” Megan replies, “but I’m trying to stay out of the mentions.  Why?”

Allie looks back down at her phone, “I’m not sure.  Bati says there’s some pretty nasty stuff.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.  Twitter hate is nothing new,” Megan responds opening twitter on her phone.  

Allie looks to Alex. “It’s directed at you and Tobin.”  

Alex groans, “Of course it is.  What are they saying?  That our relationship was a distraction to the team?”

“Uh yeah, some of them.  But…,” Allie draws out not sure how to say this, “it’s more blaming Tobin for your shot being blocked.”

“What?” Alex shrieks.  

Allie grits her teeth but continues, “They’re saying she ruined your game.”

“How the hell did she ruin my game?” Alex asks incredulously.  “I scored to tie the game.  How the hell could any of that be her fault?  I missed my PK, not her.”

“I don’t know, Al.  Bati just told me there was a lot of hate on Twitter.  I haven’t seen any of it.” Allie holds out her phone to show Alex the texts.

Alex ignores it to grab her own phone and quickly pulls up twitter.

She looks at a few things she has been mentioned in.

@alexmorgan13 _I can’t believe you took her back.  She hurt you once, it’s going to happen again #marrymeinstead_

_@alexmorgan13 is she worth getting your shot blocked over?_

_@TobinHeath is the reason @alexmorgan13 missed her pk_

_We tied Colombia and lost to Sweden. @TobinHeath messed with @alexmorgan13 head that night trying to get her back and royally fucked us over_

“What the fuck.  It’s not like she flashed me before I took it or something.  These are ridiculous,” Alex asks continuing to scroll through the absurd amount of comments that had been posted in the past two days.

Crystal peaks over Alex’s shoulder.  “Those are ridiculous.  Just ignore them.”

“These don’t even make sense,” Alex complains as she types in Tobin’s name to see what else people are writing.

_@TobinHeath you don’t deserve Alex.  Thanks for ruining our chances_

_@TobinHeath Why didnt you leave Alex alone.  Now we won’t even medal #USWNT #Rio2016_

_Alex deserves better than @TobinHeath.  Couldn’t even wait until after the Olympics_

_@TobinHeath There’s a time and place to try and make up for whatever you did.  The olympics was neither #disappointed #USWNT_

“Do you think Tobin’s seen this?” Alex asks, eyes filled with hope as she looks to Allie.

Allie grits her teeth, “Probably not.  You know how little she goes on anything.”

“Uh, guys,” Megan interrupts, looking up from her phone.  “Tobin posted something this morning.  A picture of Norbert for the dogs for Christen hashtag.”  She turns to Alex, “Have you talked to her recently?”

Alex shakes her head.  “Not really.  I said good morning and that I missed her when we woke up but she said she was going to go surfing with her brother so I haven’t expected much.  She’s leaving tomorrow,” Alex glances at the clock and sees it’s well into the early morning,  “well I guess today, so I want her to get as much family time as possible.”

“It’s possible she still didn’t see it,” Allie offers.

Alex groans, exiting out of Twitter and moving to her messages.  

**Lex: I know you’re probably sleeping but I just want to check in to see how you’re doing.  I haven’t really heard from you since you got there and I miss you.**

She sends the text to Tobin before opening up a new text to her dad.  

**Alex: There’s some pretty shitty stuff on Twitter right now.  Do you know if Tobin has seen it yet?**

Alex sets her phone down next to her as Crystal scrolls through Twitter on her phone.  “Half of these don’t even make sense.  You and Tobin have been together for a long time.  You won the World Cup and she wasn’t a distraction.  These are stupid.”  

Alex falls back into the pillows but sits up a second later when her phone vibrates.  She quickly grabs it but her face falls slightly when she sees the text isn’t from Tobin.

**Daddy: I don’t know if she has but she was pretty down all day.  She was supposed to go surf with Jeffrey but she said she wasn’t feeling well.  Not sure if it was Twitter or not but it could have been.  Have you talked to her?**

**Alex: I texted her but she’s probably asleep.  Why aren’t you asleep?**

**Daddy: I was sleeping until you woke me up.  What’s Twitter saying?**

**Alex: They’re blaming her for us losing which makes no sense but they are also just being mean about it.  I really hope she hasn’t seen it.**

**Daddy: I’ll keep an eye out and let you know.  Just make sure she knows that you don’t care what they say**

**Alex: Thanks dad.  Go to bed.  Text me if anything bad happens**

**Daddy: Goodnight sweetheart.  I love you**

**Alex: Love you too**

Alex sets her phone down and looks up at her teammates who are joking around about their interview earlier.  “She saw it,” Alex says, causing them to turn to her.

“She told you?  How is she doing?” Allie asks.

“No. She didn’t respond yet but my dad did.  She didn’t go surfing and if she actually wasn’t feeling well she would have texted me.”

“That sucks,” Megan says, not sure how to lighten the mood.

“Did the other stuff not bother her because she played it off pretty well?” Crystal asks.

Alex looks up from her phone, cocking her head towards Crystal. “What other stuff?”

Crystal gives Alex a strange look, “All of the break up stuff.”  Alex stares at her with a blank expression so Allie continues to fill in the blanks.  

“She’s been getting hate since you got out of the hospital,” Allie explains.

“I mean I saw some comments a while ago,” Alex remembers, “but I figured they stopped.  It’s been forever.”

Allie shakes her head. “I think they’re mostly DMs now but people are being real assholes about it.”

“What are they saying?” Alex asks worried.

Allie sighs but continues, “A lot of people think she cheated on-”

“She would never do that.  She’s not remotely that kind of person,” Alex interjects.

Allie laughs lightly.  “Yes, Alex, I know. I’m just telling you what they are saying.”

“Sorry,” Alex replies sheepishly.  “Keep going.”

“A lot of people also think she was only with you for publicity or money and you figured it out, which is why you broke off the engagement.”  Alex starts to open her mouth to complain but clamps it closed.  Allie goes on, “There’s probably more bullshit things they’re saying but those are the big ones.”  They sit in silence for a few moments.

“Why didn’t she tell me?” Alex asks quietly.

“What could you have done?” Allie asks back.  “She was trying to protect you.  You weren’t ready for a relationship with her, and honestly you were kind of a bitch to her at some points.”

Alex’s face drops even farther, “I wasn’t trying to be.”

“We know,” Megan pipes up from the corner chair she is sitting in.

“I need to fix this somehow,” Alex states.

“What are you going to do?” Crystal asks through a yawn.

“Hmm,” Alex bites her lip.  “I don’t know.”  After a minute of thinking, she picks up her phone again, quickly finding the contact she wants and typing out a text.

**Alex Morgan: You’re in Rio right?  I want to get something out there and I trust you.  I’m leaving tomorrow night so if you could squeeze something in before that, that would be great. The sooner the better**

~~~

Alex walks into ESPN’s studio only an hour after waking up and is quickly directed to the studio where she will do her interview.  She sits down in the makeup chair and pulls out her phone when she feels it vibrate.

**Tobin: Sorry about yesterday.  I kinda shut off from everything.  I ended up not going surfing yesterday cause I wasn’t feel it.  I miss you so much and can’t wait until we’re home together.  How are your interviews going?**

Alex rereads Tobin’s text and knows that she is doing what she needs to do for her and their relationship.

**Lex: I miss you too.  Can’t wait until I get home.  Send me pics of Norbs when you land.  I’m actually about to do one with Julie.  Just getting pretty for the cameras**

She presses send just as the door behind her opens and she sees Julie Foudy walk in through the mirror.  “Julie,” she calls.  The make-up artist tells her she’s good so she stands up and heads to the retired player.  

“How are you holding up?” Julie asks as they embrace.

“I’ve been better,” Alex replies.

“I know that feeling,” Julie nods in agreement.  “So you still haven’t told me what this interview is about.  We just have it labeled as a sitdown post loss”

Alex explains to Julie and the director the direction she wants the interview to go in.  Julie looks at her, skeptically.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Alex states.  

“You don’t owe anyone anything,” Julie reminds her.

“I’m not doing this for me or anyone else.  I’m only doing it for Tobin.  This probably won’t stop most of the hate, but at least it’s proof for her that I don’t blame her and that I’m in it for the long haul.”

“And you really want to talk about your memory?  I’m sure we could talk around it,” Julie offers.

“No.  I need to show how much she has cared for me since the beginning.  She never gave up on me or us.  And from what I’ve seen they all think Tobin did something bad to make me break up with her which is the exact opposite of true.  I just need to get everything out there because that might lessen her pain just slightly,” Alex explains.  Her phone vibrates in her pocket but she ignores it as Julie continues.

“Okay that’s your choice.  Do you mind if we show the pictures that were leaked?”

Alex shrugs, “Sure. Everyone has already seen them and come to their own conclusions.  It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Alright,” the director says, clapping his hands.  “Let’s get to it.”

The two women head to the set and each sit down in their plush arm chairs.  Alex looks at her phone as they get miked and the lights and cameras are adjusted.

**Tobin: You’re already gorgeous.  Are they toning it down so you don’t outshine Julie?**

**Lex: Loser**

The director calls ready and Alex quickly stuffs her phone back in her pocket before he calls action. Julie faces the camera, introducing Alex and talking about the Sweden loss.

“So Alex,” Julie turns to Alex. “Do you want to start off explaining why you asked for this interview.”

“Yes.  I don’t normally like to address social media but there has been some major backlash since the loss and even before.  If it was only directed at me, I could deal with it. But it’s affecting more than just me so I feel that it is imperative to clear some things up.”  She clears her throat and runs her hand through her hair before continuing.  “We see what is posted.  One or two hateful comments are easy to ignore but we get hundreds or sometimes thousands of mentions or retweets or comments.”  Alex takes a deep breath before diving in further.  

“A win or a loss is not because of a single person.  We are a team and against Sweden, we lost as a team.  They played how they needed to play to beat us.  It’s heartbreaking, but they won.  Going to PKs also really sucks.”  Julie chuckles and nods in agreement.  “It brought me right back to 2011.  So much goes into taking a penalty kick.  An open net on an empty field any one of us would score every shot.  During a match, it’s more of psychological game between you and the keeper .  When you kick the ball, you hope that they can’t read your body language, that they guess the wrong direction, that they aren’t quick enough to get to where you put it and that’s just if you kick it on frame.  We’re human and we make mistakes.  I had my PK blocked because their keeper was able to get to the ball before it went into the net.  Simple as that.  Soccer is heartbreaking.  It was no one's fault.”

“So the backlash on social media you are here to talk about.  I assume you don’t mean against Christen Press, who also missed her PK.  She has a dogs for Christen hashtag,” Julie prompts to guide Alex in the right direction.

“No.  That is actually one of the few nice things I have seen and I am so glad that the fans are doing something nice for her.  What I want to talk about is all the hate being directed at Tobin, who didn’t even take a penalty.  She is being blamed for my miss and the team’s loss even though she played amazing in that game and has been playing amazing all year.”

“Do you want to explain why Tobin?” Julie asks.

Alex runs her fingers through her hair, nodding.  “Before coming to Rio, we started dating but we wanted to keep quiet until after the Olympics so as not to cause a distraction with the media.  Somehow a picture got out from what we thought was a private moment.”

“By started dating you mean you got back together correct?  You two did get engaged in December of last year.”

“Sort of.  That’s kind of a whole ‘nother story,” Alex bobs her head from side to side.  She takes a pause to psych herself up, ‘ _This is for Tobin._ ’ “In Abby’s last game, not long after we got engaged, I hit my head against the goal post.  US Soccer released a statement that the injury was a concussion, which it was, but it was also more than that.”  Alex takes a deep breath before continuing, “I had to have surgery to release a pressure build up caused by swelling.  I was in a coma for a while and wasn’t released from the hospital until New Year’s Eve.”  Julie nods, letting Alex tell her story how she wants.  “When I woke up from my coma, I had lost a large chunk of my memory. I thought it was 2012.  I can remember winning in London and about a month more but everything after that is gone.”

“So you had no memory of anything past the 2012 London Olympics?” Alex nods.  “Has anything come back?”

“Unfortunately, no, and my doctors don’t think it ever will considering how long it has been since the accident.  I am lucky though.  I have Tobin, my teammates on the national team and the Thorns, and just my friends and family who are helping me in anyway they can.”

“So you don’t remember winning the World Cup?” Julie asks.

Alex sadly smiles and lets out a slight chuckle, “Way to poke the bruise.  No, I unfortunately don’t remember that, but I did watch all of our games while I was in the hospital.  I was getting really worked up over them, too.  So much so that my doctor had to limit how much I could watch at a time because it got my blood pressure up too high when I would get excited or nervous.  Tobin actually got a video of me when we watched Carli’s midfield goal for the final.  Hopefully she doesn’t share it with the public, but I will say that I was yelled at by a nurse for being too loud.”

“So Tobin was with you at the hospital, even though you didn’t remember your relationship with her?”  

“Yeah.  She was still my best friend and it was nice having someone around.  I wasn’t always the greatest to her then.  We got in quite a few arguments because I couldn’t remember our relationship and was actually pretty against it at the time.  She never held it against me and just tried to help me in any way that she could.”  Alex stops and thinks back to how horrible she was to Tobin when all Tobin was doing was try to help.  “She actually had this whole little miny ceremony for me for once we finished watching the final.  She had the jersey’s we had worn that day shipped to the hospital along with our three star jerseys, and the World Champion shirts.  She even borrowed Cheney’s medal to present to me but what really meant the most to me, she somehow got the cup to the hospital.  And I got to hold it.”

“That day might be one of the best day’s of my life because she gave me the realest experience possible in that hospital room so I could have some memory of winning the World Cup even if it’s not the real one.”

Julie smiles but gives a slight nod to the voice in her ear to get the interview back on track.  “So you still have no recollection of your relationship?”

“No,” Alex shakes her head.  “Not at all.  That’s why I gave her the ring back.  I wasn’t the person she asked to marry and everything was just too much for me.  But when a relationship is meant to be, you find your way back to them.  I think that’s what Tobin is to me.  I fought it for a long time because I wasn’t accepting of myself and my sexuality, but now I know she’s who I want to be with.  She waited for me to figure this all out on my own.  She _never_ pressured me.  If anything I’ve been pressuring her.  I actually had to pressure her to just go on a date with me because she was worried I was only doing it to appease her.”

They wrap up the interview with a few more questions before the director calls cut.

~~~

Tobin waits in the car with the brim of her hat pulled down to cover her face. Norbert sits in the passenger seat, looking out the window at everyone walking by.  She lightly taps at the steering wheel until she is startled by Norbert barking and a knock on the window.  Tobin looks up to see Alex smiling at her through the glass. Tobin quickly pops the trunk and hops out to meet Alex at the back of her car.  Alex takes a step into her to press their lips together but Tobin turns her head, causing Alex’s lips to brush Tobin’s cheek.  Tobin looks around worried, then pulls her hat down again.

“Sorry, just not here,” Tobin says apologetically, not able to meet Alex’s eyes.  She quickly steps around Alex, grabbing her bags and placing them in the trunk one by one.  “How were your flights?”

“Long,” Alex yawns. Tobin shuts the trunk and walks back around the driver’s side.  She opens the passenger door and calls for Norbert so he hops out of the front seat.  Alex stares at Tobin from where she still stands near the trunk.  

Tobin turns and looks while blocking their squirming puppy from jumping out. “Can you get in?”

Alex nods, her smile dropping as she walks around the car.  Norbert tries to hop into her lap as soon as she sits down but can’t fit fully on her lap. “Hi, sweetie,” Alex coos, “you’re so big now.”  Tobin climbs in as Alex tries to push Norbert’s face away from attacking her with his tongue.

“Norbs, come on buddy.”  Tobin pushes him back so his front paws are now on the center console then starts pulling on his leash until he moves into the back row.  Alex sadly looks over at Tobin as she shifts the car into gear and starts driving them home.

“Tobs?” Alex asks when they are halfway home.  When Tobin glances out of the corner of her eye, Alex reaches over and grabs her hand.  “I’m sorry we didn’t get to come out the way we wanted to and for everything that’s happening online.”

Tobin shrugs, her voice barely audible, “It’s fine.  You care more about that kind of stuff anyways.”

As they pull into the driveway, Tobin turns to Alex, “I figured we deserved pizza so I called a while ago to have it delivered.  We have like fifteen minutes before it should be here if you want to take a quick shower or something.”  Alex shakes her head and  looks back at Norbert, waiting at the car door for them to let him out.  She quickly gets out and catches his leash as she opens the door for him.

Tobin pulls Alex’s bags out of the back, waving off Alex as she tries to take one of them.  Once they are inside, Tobin places Alex’s bags in the laundry room and makes Norbert dinner. Alex walks over to Tobin who is watching him eat and wraps her arms around her waist, smiling when Tobin relaxes into her arm.               

“Do you want to eat outside?” Alex softly asks, nuzzling into Tobin’s neck.  Tobin nods and turns in Alex’s arms.  Alex glances at Tobin’s lip and leans in halfway, allowing Tobin to make the final move.  Tobin is quick to place her lips against Alex, putting all of the emotion from the past week into it.  

Tobin’s fingers tangle in Alex’s hair as she pushes her up against the kitchen wall, forcefully. Tobin pulls away and tilts her head down while Alex looks up to expose more of her neck.  Tobin’s lips latch onto the soft skin.  Alex lets out a groan when the doorbell rings a moment later.  Tobin drops her head onto Alex’s shoulder, whimpering while her thumb softly strokes Alex’s neck. She huffs before standing up fully and trudging towards the door, grabbing her wallet along the way.  

Alex walks into the laundry room where they keep their picnic blanket.  They walk out the back door with Norbert and sit down, the pizza separating them.  Alex tells Tobin about the events she went to in between bites of pizza.

They eventually head back inside where Tobin beelines it for the couch.  She flops down and starts flicking through the channels on the TV.  Norbert jumps on the couch easily and curls up between her legs.  Alex walks over kissing first Norbert’s nose before moving in front of Tobin.  She smiles and soothes back the hairs falling into her face.  Alex leans in and kisses Tobin, their lips moving in unison for a few moments before Tobin pulls away.

“Are you sure?” she softly asks.

“Am I sure about what?” Alex sees Tobin’s eyes flick down, doubt taking over her features.  Alex sighs in understanding, “About you?  I’m positive.” She slowly presses her lips against Tobin’s, pulling away just as slowly a moment later.  “Did you see the interview I did with Julie...Foudy?” Alex asks.

Tobin shakes her head confused. “No. Why?  Did you guys talk about the Sydney Olympics?”  Alex shakes her head.  “The ‘95 World Cup?” Tobin guesses.

“Nope,” Alex pops, “no soccer.”  Tobin scrunches her face trying to think.  “I talked about you,” Alex answers.

Tobin continues looking at Alex confused, “Why?”

“Because you’re my girlfriend, and I wanted everyone to know how much you mean to me.” Alex kisses her again, “You should watch it if you want.”

Tobin nods and looks down at Norbert, loudly snoring at her feet.  “He’s so big.  He can jump up on the bed by himself now.  He was scratching at your door today.  He missed you.”  

Alex sadly smiles, “At least we don’t have to leave him for a while.”  Alex stands up, “I’m going to throw some of my stuff in the wash then shower cause I feel gross.”

Tobin crinkles her nose. “Spending a full day on the plane will do that to you.” She waves her hand in front of her nose to solidify her point.

Alex pushes at Tobin’s shoulder with a smile and moves to the laundry room.  She puts the first load of clothes in before grabbing her toiletries and heading to her room.  She sees Tobin using one hand to reach the laptop sitting on the coffee table in front of her, the screen showing the ESPN’s homepage.  She smiles and continues to her room.

~~~

An hour later Alex walks out of her room to a dark house.  She walks down the hall to the living room, flipping the light switch as she enters.  She frowns when she finds the couch empty and Tobin’s laptop closed on the coffee table.  Alex walks into the laundry room finding a second load of her clothes in the wash and her first load in the dryer.  She smiles at Tobin’s thoughtfulness and turns the lights off before heading back to her room.

She stands in her doorway, looking at the empty bed.  She looks back into the hall and spies light creeping out from under Tobin’s door.  She turns around, walking the few steps over until she is standing outside of it.  Alex takes a few breaths then raises her hand and lightly knocks on the door.

“Come in,” Tobin calls.

Alex opens the door and peeks her head around.  Tobin sits on top of her covers with her knees up, in glasses, old UNC shorts and a sports bra.  Alex’s eyes graze over Tobin’s exposed skin but quickly diverts her eyes to Norbert laying at the edge of the bed.  

“What’s up?” Tobin asks, crossing her legs and placing her bible down on the bed next to her.  Alex bites her lip and turns her head, glancing back out the door and to her room.

“I was…,” Alex lifts up a finger, pointing behind her. “Did you want to… It was yours, too… I-.”  Alex stops rambling and runs a hand through her messy hair.  “Do you still want to stay in here?”

Tobin sits up straighter, “What do you mean?”  She chews on her lip, waiting for Alex’s reply.

“Um.  I was wondering if you wanted to move back...into the other bedroom...with me?” Alex  asks worriedly.

Tobin’s face lightens and a smile spreads across it.  “Are you sure?” she asks, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

Alex looks back towards the hallway and can see the light trickling out of her room.  She faces Tobin and nods, “Yeah.  I’ve really missed you.  I kind of just want to fall asleep in your arms if that’s okay.”

Tobin nods.  Alex smiles and moves around the bed next to Tobin.  She holds her hand out for Tobin, “Let’s go to bed.”

Tobin takes the offered hand and gets pulled up into Alex.  They walk to the doorway hand in hand.  Tobin lifts her hand to the light switch but doesn’t flip it yet.  She turns back around and lets out a soft whistle.  Norbert quickly raises his head.  Tobin motions out the door with her head “Come on, Norbie.” Norbert stands up and Tobin flips off the lights.  She follows Alex out the door and they can hear Norbert’s paws hit the floor and start following after them.

Norbert jumps up onto the bed in Alex’s room, walking circles around the comforter and sniffing.  Tobin drops Alex’s hand and moves to the end of the bed, patting the comforter.  “Come here, Norbs.  Sit down, right here.”  

Norbert walks over, tail wagging.  He lays down after Tobin pats the comforter a few more times and licks her hand.  Alex walks to her side of the bed and pulls the sheets back, eyes locking with Tobin as she does.  She sits down and slides her legs under the sheets.  

Tobin does the same thing on the other side of the bed. She slides into the middle and shimmies her body down so she’s laying flat.

Alex turns off her bedside light and slides down next to Tobin.  Tobin slides her arm over Alex’s hip and pulls her flush against her body.  She picks her head up and leans over to kiss Alex’s cheek.  “Goodnight, Lex.”

Alex turns her head and brushes their lips against together before snuggling deeper into Tobin’s embrace and placing her hand over Tobin’s.  “Goodnight, Tobs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think


	26. I Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here goes nothing

A smile forms across Alex’s face as she slowly wakes up and feels an arm draped across her middle.  She rolls onto her back and looks over to find Tobin on her stomach in the middle of the bed.  The arm that isn’t holding Alex is resting on the other pillow, next to her face which is turned away.  She watches the even rise and fall of her back for a few minutes before she starts to get out of bed.  She pushes the covers down and starts to sit up and slide out when Tobin’s hand tightens, gripping a handful of shirt.  Alex reaches down and covers Tobin’s hand with her own, trying to free the fabric of her shirt.  

After a few unsuccessful attempts, she lets her hand trace up Tobin’s arm to her back.  She slides it over the sports bra to the tanned lower back that is no longer covered by blankets. Alex leans over Tobin, tucking the hair in her face behind her ear before pressing a soft kiss against Tobin’s warm cheek.  

“Tobs,” Alex whispers, her lips brushing against Tobin’s cheek.  “I need you to let go.”

Tobin whimpers and keeps her hold tight on Alex’s shirt.  “I’ll be back but I need to go to the bathroom.”  Tobin whimpers again but loosens her hold on the shirt.  Alex gives her another soft kiss before sliding out of the bed.  

Norbert jumps up when Alex’s feet hit the floor.  She pets his head as she walks by and heads into the bathroom.  He jumps up and follows after her, walking in before she closes the door.  

As she exits the bathroom she grabs her toothbrush and walks out of the bedroom, Norbert following closely behind.  Alex walks into the kitchen, brushing the toothpaste across her teeth.  She opens the door into their backyard and Norbert runs outside.  Alex moves to the sink and washes out her mouth.  She watches him roam around the yard for a few minutes through the window above the sink.  Eventually she walks to the door and calls him back inside.  He turns his head, tongue hanging out from his wide open grin.  He runs to Alex, tail wagging.  Alex lets him pass by her and towards his water.  She scratches his back a few times before heading back to the bedroom.  

Tobin hasn’t moved since she left the bed ten minutes earlier.  Alex smiles, setting her toothbrush down on the bedside table and climbing back in.  She slides close, her hand resting on Tobin’s hip.  

Tobin rolls onto her side, pressing her back into Alex’s chest.  “Hi,” she breaths, her voice raspy with sleep.  Alex tightens her grip around Tobin’s waist, pulling her tight against her.  Alex uses her other hand to pull back the hair covering Tobin’s face and leans down to kiss her.  Tobin turns her head so Alex’s lip slide across her cheek and connect with her own.

Tobin whimpers and pulls back pouting.  Alex looks at her in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“Morning breath,” Tobin answers, putting her hand over her mouth.  “You’re super minty and I probably smell really bad.”

Alex reaches over and pulls Tobin’s hand away, reconnecting their lips.  She moves her hand back to Tobin’s hip and pushes it down onto the mattress, pushing Tobin to her back.  She slips one leg over her waist and climbs on top of her, her lips trailing from Tobin’s down to her neck.  Alex starts lightly sucking on the skin stopping when Tobin’s head pushes back into the pillow and a soft moan vibrates in her throat.  Her hand moves to Tobin’s neck and she starts sucking harder over the spot.  Tobin moans again and her hands roam under Alex’s shirt.  

Alex nibbles on the slick skin causing Tobin’s nails to lightly dig into her back as she squirms underneath.  Alex pulls back and looks down at Tobin, both of them slightly out of breath. Tobin slowly opens her eyes and looks up at Alex.  She leans into the light touch of Alex’s fingertips against her face.  Alex leans down and takes Tobin’s lip between her own, sucking on it.  Tobin’s chest arches up and Alex moves her hand down to Tobin’s side, resting over the fabric of her sports bra.  

Alex leans down, sucking on the soft warm skin under her ear as she plays with the elastic band of the bra.  Tobin pushes her hips up, uncontrollably into Alex.  Alex moans into Tobin’s skin and lets her fingers slide under the band.

Tobin’s hands quickly move to Alex’s hips and flips them. Alex squeals and laughs until Tobin latches onto her neck.  Alex lets out a long moan and tangles her hand in Tobin’s hair to keep her close.  Her hands grip at Tobin’s back, her mind barely able to focus on Tobin’s lips.

Tobin adjusts her position and moves to the other side Alex’s neck.  A moan escapes Alex’s lips and she pushes her hips up.  She blindly reaches around for Tobin’s hand, finding it and guiding it from the bed to her side.  She guides the hand to her chest, placing it on over the small rise of her shirt.  

Tobin freezes and pulls back to look down at Alex, her hand still hovering over Alex’s heaving chest.  “Don’t stop,” Alex begs.  Tobin bites her lip and checks Alex’s face to make sure it’s what she wants.  Alex slightly opens her eyes, looking up at Tobin.  “Please,” she softly whimpers, her eyes pleading.  Tobin doesn’t move and Alex sighs.  She releases Tobin’s hand and reaches up to her neck and pulling her down to her lips.  A long minute later she lets her head fall back to the pillow and looks up to Tobin.

“Tobin?” Alex softly asks.

Tobin moves her hand from Alex’s chest down to the bed to support her.  “Yeah?

Alex places her hand on Tobin’s cheek and softly strokes her temple with her thumb.  “What’s wrong?  Did I do something? This isn’t new.  We’ve had sex and stuff.” Alex pauses nervously, realizing they’ve never actually talked about it in detail. “Right?”

Tobin nods, “We, uh...we did.  Just this would be your first time but not mine.  And I remember you were nervous last time because you had never been with a girl before. And…,” Tobin bites her lip, “And…”

Alex leans up and gives her a quick kiss before sliding up into a seated position.  She wraps her arms around Tobin’s neck.  “I am nervous but I still want to be with you.  I trust you so much, Tobin.  You have been so great to me during this whole process.  You let me find my way back to you.  I’m nervous but I want to be with you,” Alex starts running her fingers through Tobin’s hair, “To be intimate with you.  I don’t know if I’m ready to do everything just yet, but I know I want it to be with you when I am.”

Tobin bites her lip and stares into her favorite blue eyes. “Did you mean everything you said to Julie?”

Alex nods, “You’re who I want to be with.”  Alex strokes the side of Tobin’s face, staring right into her eyes, “I love you, Tobin.”  Alex blinks up at Tobin, watching the words register on her face and a smile start to spread causing her eyes to crinkle.

“You love me?” Tobin asks awestruck.

Alex nods confidently, “Yeah.”  She tucks a fallen piece of hair behind Tobin’s ear and bites her lip, waiting for a response.

Tobin leans down and pushes her lips hard against Alex’s, hungrily.  She pulls back after a moan escapes through Alex’s parted lips.  Tobin looks down as Alex’s image starts to blur.  She quickly wipes the back of her hand over each eye.

Alex quickly reaches up with both hands and begins lightly stroking under each eye with her thumbs.  “Tobin.  It’s okay,” Alex soothes.  “I’m right here.” Tobin focus on Alex’s eyes and leans down again, to press a chaste kiss against her lips.  

Tobin pulls back slightly, hovering over Alex.  “I love you, too,” Tobin softly breathes out.  “I never stopped.”  Alex pulls Tobin down against her growing smile and wraps her arms tightly around the midfielder’s neck.

Alex tangles her legs with Tobin’s and forces them to roll over.  She leans over Tobin softly stroking her face.  “I know.” Alex starts to lean down when their tranquil moment is broken up by Norbert barking.  They both silently laugh and Alex starts leaning down again, her lips only a millimeter away when Norbert barks, this time from right next to them.  Alex and Tobin turn and see his nose poking up over the edge of the bed.

“I think he’s hungry,” Tobin says softly from her spot below Alex.  

Alex pouts and nods, reaching down for Tobin’s lips one more time.  This time not stopping when Norbert’s bark interrupts them.  After a minute she rolls off of Tobin and scratches the top of Norbert’s head before walking out of the bedroom.  Tobin’s head falls back onto the pillow and she lets out a groan.

~~~

Alex lets Norbert out again after he finishes eating.  Her phone vibrates on the counter where she placed it the night before.  She finds a mass string of texts. She starts with the bottom of the list.

**Allie: How is she doing?  Did she watch your interview?  Do you need anything?  I can come over**

**Allie: Am I still driving you two to lunch tomorrow?**

**Allie: Why aren’t you answering me?**

**Allie: OMG Are you guys doing it?**

**Allie: Wait. Don’t answer that**

She then moves up to the Operation Talex group text which now includes Christen.

**Kelley: What’s going on in Portland**

**Kelley: Hello? I know you landed Alex.  I checked your flight info**

**Allie: She hasn’t answered me either.  I think they’re having sex**

**Christen: TMI.  Not something I needed to even imagine**

**Allie: Not like them having sex is a new thing Chris**

**Kelley: You’re so right.  Tobin’s not responding either.**

**Christen: That doesn’t mean anything.  Tobin doesn’t live with her phone**

**Kelley: Still no response.  They totally did it last night**

**Allie: Way to go Al**

**Kelley: Get you some**

**Christen: Why am I part of this message???**

**Kelley: Because you love us**

**Christen: Says who**

Alex shakes her head and starts typing.

**Alex: I hate you all.  We did not have sex**

**Alex: I did tell her I love her though**

She sets the phone down and heads back to her room.  She finds her room empty and turns back to the hall.  She moves to the door of the other bedroom, about to knock when she hears the shower.  Alex walks back to the kitchen, checking her phone before she starts making breakfast.

**Kelley: I KNEW IT.  I CALLED IT. I WAS RIGHT.  YOU LOVE HER.  I WAS RIGHT**

**Allie: So you made love...**

~~~

Alex holds Tobin’s hands across the couch, Norbert sleeping in between them, tired from their walk.   Alex is answering emails with one hand when Tobin’s phone vibrates in her pocket. She fishes it out and looks down.

**Harry: Leaving now.  Be there in 20.  Are you guys ready?**

Tobin looks over at Alex and holds up her phone.  “Do you know why Allie is coming over?”  Alex looks at Tobin’s phone and groans.

“Oh right.  Some of the team wants to see us so we’re going out to lunch.  I can tell them we’re not up for it if you want.  Sorry I thought you knew.”

Tobin shrugs, “I hadn’t really been looking at my phone.”

Alex moves her computer and turns to Tobin, sitting cross legged.  “We don’t have to go out if you don’t want to.”

Tobin shakes her head, “I want to. But um…” Tobin’s eyes flick down  and she bites her lip. “Your neck.  You might want to use some coverup.”  

Alex lets out a soft laugh as her hand reaches up to her neck.  She smiles, noticing Tobin’s neck and noting, “You too.”  She lifts Tobin’s hand up to her mouth.  She turns it and presses her lips against the inside of Tobin’s wrist, looking up into Tobin’s warm brown eyes.  She watches the pupils dilate before standing up.  Alex presses a soft kiss against Tobin’s lips, slowly pulling away. Tobin leans forward, following her to keep their lips connected.

Alex smirks at Tobin before turning around and flashing Tobin a devious smile before disappearing down the hall.  Tobin looks at Norbert then quickly stands up, chasing after Alex.  She reaches her before she makes it to the door of her bedroom.  Tobin grabs her around the waist and lifts her up, carrying her to the bed.  Alex squeals and starts laughing as Tobin falls back onto the bed, still holding Alex.

Alex rolls off of her onto the bed with her hand resting on the center of Tobin’s chest.  “I love you.”  She stretches her neck and presses their lips together.  Her hand slides up Tobin’s neck, pulling her in closer.  Tobin’s tongue slips into Alex’s mouth. Alex whimpers as Tobin’s tongue meets her own. She rolls on top of Alex and slides her hand under her back pulling her fully on the bed.  Her other hand moves to Alex’s hip and slides under her shirt, stopping when her thumb reaches the fabric of Alex’s bra.

Tobin drops her head, moving to the base of Alex’s neck and kissing along her the collarbone lightly.  Alex writhes under Tobin’s touch, pushing her chest up. “Please,” she begs running her fingers wildly through Tobin’s hair.

Tobin pulls back and stares at Alex’s face.  The forward’s eyes are closed, her teeth clamping her bottom lip as she sucks in air.  Tobin slowly crawls her fingers up over the top of the cup of Alex’s bra.  Alex’s teeth clamp down on her lip hard as Tobin slowly squeezes.  

Tobin moves her lips back down to Alex’s skin, nibbling on Alex’s collarbone and leaving many tiny marks.  She doesn’t notice that Alex is trying to pull off her shirt until it reaches her arms.  Alex tugs again so Tobin will comply.  She pushes against Tobin’s shoulder so she will sit back.  Alex sits up with her and tugs the shirt over her head.  Tobin bites her lip as Alex’s eyes rake over her exposed torso.  

Tobin watches Alex’s eyes looking for signs of dislike or doubt but only finds lust and desire.  Tobin starts to lean down again but Alex holds her back.  Tobin is about to protest when Alex’s eyes wander down Tobin’s body again, her hand slowly following.  She pauses at the rings and slips them both on down to the first knuckle of her ring finger.  She glances up at Tobin who is watching her hand.  She then continues her gaze down the rest of Tobin’s torso.  Alex looks back up from the top of Tobin’s pant line, stopping at the gray bra covering Tobin’s chest.  Her fingers twitch where they lay above Tobin’s belly button.  

Tobin takes Alex’s hand in her own and lifts it up to her chest.  She places it over the bra, holding it in place.  Alex wets her lips with her tongue, her eyes still on Tobin’s chest.  “Alex,” Tobin asks tentatively.  Alex looks up into Tobin’s eyes, “What are you thinking?”

Alex glances back down where her hand is trapped between Tobin’s hand and chest.  “I don’t want to do something wrong.”

Tobin leans down and kisses Alex quickly.  “You won’t do anything wrong.  Lex, anything you do will be great because it’s you.  We can talk through things too if you want.  Like how this side,” Tobin squeezes her left hand which is still holding Alex’s, “is a little more sensitive than this side,” she cocks her head to the right.

Alex bites her lip again staring back down at Tobin’s chest.  She looks back up to Tobin, worry etched over her face.  “Can you lay down?”

Tobin smiles and nods, climbing off of Alex.  She crawls up to the pillows and leans back against them.  Alex follows her with her eyes before rolling to her hands and knees and following after her.  She straddles Tobin’s waist, sitting back on her heels.  Her eyes graze over Tobin’s torso, both of their chests heaving.  

Alex steadies herself by placing her hands on Tobin’s bare sides.  She glides her hands up to Tobin’s ribs, starting to work them across the front of Tobin’s chest.  Tobin keeps her eyes on Alex’s face, watching for any signs of needing to stop, until Alex’s hands start massaging her through the bra.  Her head falls back into the pillow and she arches up into Alex’s hands.

Alex relaxes and smiles to herself until she hears a banging on the door followed by Norbert barking.  Alex bows her head in defeat and Tobin looks up.  “Allie?”

Alex nods and climbs off of her, walking to the front door.  She pushes Norbert to the side so she can open the door slightly.  Allie stands on the other side, tapping her foot impatiently.  “You ready?”

“Uh, yeah.” Alex turns back into the house, “Tobin, Allie’s here.  Let’s go.” She turns back to Allie whose jaw is hanging open.  “What?”

“You can’t go out like that,” Allie pushes the front door open further and steps past Alex.  “I know you guys are out now and stuff but you don’t need to be this out.”

She walks into the master bedroom to find Tobin sitting on the bed in her bra turning her shirt right side out.  “Well hello there Tobin,” Allie smirks as she heads through to the bathroom, Alex trailing close behind.  “Okay you need something to cover up all these,” Allie motions to Alex’s neck.  She turns back to the counter, grabbing what she needs.  She moves Alex and starts working on covering up the bruising.  “Tobin, get in here,” Allie calls.

A moment later Tobin sheepishly walks in, “Yeah?”  Allie turns and grabs Tobin’s chin, first turning it to the left, then to the right, examining her neck.  

“Alright, you too,” she sighs.  She then turns back to Alex who is looking over her shoulder at Tobin apologetically.  “I understand you guys are,” Allie pauses for the right word, “ _reconnecting_ but don’t you think you can keep it a little less obvious.  Little kids don’t need to see this.”  Allie turns to Tobin, “You think you can keep it in your pants?  Or at least below the shirt collar.”

Tobin smirks, “But she’s so attractive.  I can’t possibly keep my hands off of her.”  Tobin steps around Allie and reaches out to grab Alex’s hips, pushing her into the countertop.  Alex smiles and leans into Tobin’s lips.  

Allie rolls her eyes and taps her foot, coughing into her fist, “Still here.”

Tobin pulls back and turns to Allie.  “If she’s going to let me do it, there’s no way in hell I’m going to stop”

Alex and Allie both smile, Allie shaking her head as Alex grabs hold of Tobin’s hand. “Okay, lovebirds.  Let me finish covering up your huge hickies and then we need to get going.”

~~~

When they arrive at the restaurant, the three step out of Allie’s car.  Alex walks to the front and waits for the other two to make their way over.  The three start walking to the front door with Allie in between Tobin and Alex. Alex lets out an inaudible sigh wishing she could hold Tobin’s hand.  Alex leads the way through the door, heading straight outside where the team has taken over the entire patio.  A few cheers go up as their teammates stand to greet a few of their recently returned Olympians.

After everyone hugs, Alex feels a light hand on her back.  She turns to find Tobin smiling at her, “Come sit with me.”  Tobin leads her to the end of a long metal table and sits next to Michelle with an open seat to her right. Tobin quickly asks Michelle, Mana and Hayley what they did during the break.  

After they order,  Alex turns to her right, away from Tobin who is talking about surfing with Mana.  A few minutes later, Alex looks down at Tobin’s hand resting on her leg, drawing small circles with her pointer finger.  Alex’s eyes follow Tobin’s arm up to her shoulder then to the back of her head.  She looks around at their level of privacy, seeing the full glass windows peeking into the restaurant and the semi busy Portland street just past the shrubbery creating a wall between them and the sidewalk.

Alex places her hand over Tobin’s and leans over, whispering, “People can see us.”  

Tobin pulls her hand back to her lap, looking around.  “Sorry.”  Her eyes settle on Alex, “I thought that was okay.”

“Why are you sorry?” Alex questions, her head slightly tilting to the side.  “I figured you didn’t realize.”

Tobin shrugs, slowly reaching her hand back towards Alex’s.  “I realized.”  Alex smiles, looking down at Tobin’s hand inching closer.  Alex turns her hand, palm up and lets Tobin’s fingers weave in between hers.  Tobin brings the hand up to her lips, kissing the back of it.  “You did that interview for me.  I can do this for you.”

Alex shakes her head and pulls her hand out of Tobin’s.  “No.  I did that interview because people were hurting you and I don’t like it when people that _I love_ are hurt.  We can take this as slow as you want.”

Tobin nods.  “Thank you.” She runs her fingers through her hair.  She smiles at Alex.  “You have been amazing.”  Tobin reaches her hand up to Alex’s cheek and leans in, molding their lips together and sucking gently on Alex’s soft lower lip.  She feels two hands at the base of her skull, nails scratching as they work higher through her hair.

They are brought out of their bubble by the clinking of glasses.  They break apart and look around to all of their teammates grinning at them and clinking their forks against their water glasses.  

“Ow, ow,” Lindsey calls out from another table.  Tobin shakes her head before standing up to bow to their teammates.  Alex reaches up to  pull Tobin back down, while rolling her eyes.  Tobin sits and brings the hand up to her lips to press a soft kiss against her knuckles.

~~~

Tobin sits on the couch, Sports Center on in front of her.  Norbert jumps up as the door behind her opens and digs his nails into Tobin’s thigh as he jumps over her to get to the door.  She lets out a groan in pain, looking down at the marks on her legs.  

“Well at least someone is happy to see me,” Alex jokes setting her purse down to pet Norbert and give him a kiss between the eyes.

Tobin rubs her hand over her leg to brush away the pain before standing up and moving around the couch.  “How was your meeting?” she asks as Alex stands back up and gives her a kiss.

Alex loops her fingers through the belt loops of Tobin’s shorts, keeping her from stepping away.   “Too long,” Alex says lowly, her eyes focused on Tobin’s lips as they curl upwards.

“You were barely gone an hour,” Tobin notes, aware of Alex’s gaze.

“And that was sixty minutes that I could have been doing something else,” Alex rasps. She starts to slowly walk backwards, tugging on Tobin’s shorts and pulling her around the couch.

“You want to take a nap?” Tobin jokes as Alex leads her down the hall.

“Oh, I definitely would have spent the hour in bed.”  Alex gets to the bedroom door and releases Tobin’s shorts, stepping back into the room. She kicks off her shoes and steps back until her legs hit the side of the bed.  Tobin stands in the doorway, her eyes trained on Alex. Alex crosses her arms down to her hips, smirking at Tobin as she pulls the black shirt she stole from Tobin up over her head.  She tosses the shirt to Tobin’s feet and climbs up onto the bed, “Wasn’t going to do much sleeping though.”  She wiggles her eyebrows moving back towards the pillows.

Tobin gulps, her breathing shallow.  She tentatively steps over the shirt, looking over at her girlfriend’s partially clothed body.  “And what were you going to do instead?” Tobin stutters, stopping a foot from the bed.

Alex reaches up, grabbing the front of Tobin’s shirt and pulling her down.  “How ‘bout I show you?”  She tugs a little harder until Tobin’s lips crash into hers.  Her hand releases Tobin’s shirt and slides up over her shoulder into the collar of her shirt and down her back.

Tobin crawls onto the bed over Alex and places one hand on her hip.  Alex tilts her head, glancing down to Tobin’s hand as Tobin’s lips move to her neck.  She bites her lip and pushes her chest up with her nails digging into Tobin’s back when Tobin bites down.  Alex brings her hand up and grabs onto Tobin’s shirt.  “Off,” she grunts, pulling the shirt up.  Tobin smirks as she sits up, reaches behind her and grabs the back of her shirt to pull it up over her head.

Before the shirt has even left Tobin’s hand Alex traces her finger down Tobin’s collarbone and sternum.  She loops it into the fabric of Tobin’s bra and pulls, bringing her back down.  Tobin’s lips crash into hers and her hands cradle her face.

Alex reaches her hands around to Tobin’s back, rubbing the soft skin.  After her hands graze over Tobin’s bra strap one too many times.  Her fingers start to slide along the strap, looking for the clips.  She quickly finds them and her fingers start to work on the unclipping them.  Alex groans while Tobin pulls back.  Alex’s hands fall back onto the side.

“Alex?” Tobin asks amused.

“That seems so much easier when it’s my own,” Alex complains with pout.

“Are you sure you...you’re ready for this?” Tobin asks, sucking her lip into her mouth.

Alex looks down at Tobin’s chest and reaches her hand up to Tobin’s neck, rubbing over the little hairs that rest there.  She gives a few small nods of her head and looks up into Tobin’s eyes.  “Not everything, but this,” Alex pulls on the strap at Tobin’s shoulder, “can go.”

“What if I take you on a date first?” Tobin barters.

Alex hooks her finger through the strap and pulls lightly.  “Trying to woo me?”

“I haven’t taken you out in a while,” her voice trailing off as her eyes unfocus.

“Hey,” Alex places both of her hands on Tobin’s cheeks.  “We can wait.  Want to go out tonight?”

A huge smile crosses over Tobin’s face.  “Pick you up at six?”

Alex laughs, “Pick me up?  Tobs, we live together.”

Tobin shakes her head, “Dress nice.  I’ll be here at six.”  Tobin leans down, giving Alex a long kiss before climbing off of her and getting up.  She grabs her shirt from the floor and moves out the door into the other bedroom.  Alex follows after her, still shirtless.  She finds Tobin looking through the drawers.  Tobin turns when she senses Alex in the doorway, smiling at the amount of exposed skin.  Tobin walks towards her. “Alex you can’t see my outfit yet.  I’ll see you in a few hours.”  Tobin presses a kiss to Alex’s lips before pushing her out the door.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was a lot of fluff...Do y'all want stuff like this or should I skip past the no clothes scenes


	27. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the answers were overwhelming

Tobin stands at the front door and holds her phone in her hand, waiting for the white numbers to change from 5:59.  After what feels like triple the time it should take the numbers to change they do.  Tobin pockets her phone and brings her hand up to the door to knock.  Before she can even finish her three knocks the door swings open.  

Tobin takes in Alex’s appearance.  “Uh...hi,” she breaths.

Alex smiles back at her.  “Hi.”  Norbert barks from behind the door.

“Are you ready?” she asks, her smile wide as she looks over Alex again.

Alex’s eyes flick down to Tobin’s hands before refocusing back on her face.  She nods, letting out a quiet laugh to herself.  “Is there something you’re forgetting?”

“No?” Tobin says more as a question looking down to her feet confused .  “Oh, right.” She holds out her fist, clutching the stems of six pink carnations.  “These are for you.”

Alex smiles, taking the flowers and making sure her hand brush Tobin’s as she does.  “Do you want to come in while I put these in water?”  Tobin smiles and nods.  “I have a dog.  I hope that’s okay,” she jokes as she turns and heads towards the kitchen.

Tobin steps into the house and bends down as Norbert rolls onto his back with his tail thumping against the ground.  Tobin pets him until Alex returns with a dog bone.  Norbert flips over and runs to his dog bed in the corner where Alex waits.  He sits, drool starting to drip from his mouth. Alex scratches his head while placing the bone in front of his mouth.  He chomps at it and Alex heads over to Tobin.

Tobin lightly places her hand on Alex’s back and leads her out the door.  “Nice place,” she jokes as Alex stops to lock the front door.

Alex shakes her head as she turns and finds Tobin’s hand.  “Where are we going?”

“To dinner,” Tobin responds as she gets to the passenger car door, opening it for Alex.

Alex turns fully to Tobin, rolling her eyes.  “You make things very difficult.” Tobin smirks but it is quickly covered by Alex’s lips as the forward leans down.  Alex’s hands move to the collar of Tobin’s black v-neck.

Tobin pulls away, about to stop Alex when the fingers grip the chain underneath the shirt and pull it out.  They both watch the rings fall down against Tobin’s chest.  Tobin looks up and finds Alex looking back at her, “Are you sure?”

Alex nods confidently, leaning into Tobin again, wrapping her in a hug.  “Those rings show that you love me and I like to look at them.”  Tobin turns her head pressing her lips to Alex’s cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispers before stepping back.  Alex smiles and climbs into the car.

~~~

Tobin pulls into a small parking lot twenty minutes from their house.  She climbs out of the car and waits for Alex at the front, connecting their hands when she is close enough.  Alex leans over and presses a kiss to the corner of Tobin’s mouth before they start walking to the front door of the restaurant twenty yards away.

Alex opens the glass door for them and lets Tobin lead her to the maitre d.  “I have a reservation under Norbert,” Tobin tells him.

Alex laughs next to her as the man looks down at the screen of his tablet.  “Ah, yes.  If you could please follow me.”  He grabs two menus and turns, walking through the half full restaurant to a candle lit table near the corner.  He pulls out both chairs and Tobin finally releases Alex’s hand as she moves across to the other side of the table.

The two sit down and Alex picks up her menu.  Tobin reaches a hand across, lowering the menu so she can look into Alex’s eyes.  “Do you mind if I order for you?”

Alex shrugs and sets her menu down.  “Sure.  What am I getting?”

“It’s just normally what you get when we come here.  You can look at the menu to see if something else sounds better,” Tobin says, her fingers fidgeting with the rings around her neck.

Alex shakes her head and folds her hand over her menu leaning into the table.  “If you want to wine and dine me, I’m not going to say no.”

“Oh, do you want wine?” Tobin asks, chewing on her lower lip.  She quickly grabs her phone to find the nearest place selling wine  “I figured ‘cause we start practice again tomorrow that we shouldn’t.  They don’t sell her but I can go find somethin’.  Do you want white or red?” She glances up at Alex waiting for a response.  

Alex just shakes her head, reaching a hand across the table and resting it on Tobin’s.  “Tobs, it’s an expression,” Alex soothes.  “Calm down.”

Tobin lets out the breath she didn’t know she was holding, setting her phone down.  “Sorry. I just want this to be perfect.”

“What’s fun about perfect,” Alex counters. “I feel like if this was supposed to be perfect I wouldn’t have hit my head.”  Tobin lifts Alex hand to her lips as she continues.  “But I am pretty sure you’re perfect for me.”

Tobin’s grin spreads fully across her face.  “You’re such a cheese ball.”  

Alex grins as the their waitress approaches.  “You love me anyways,” she states before turning her attention to the woman standing above them who introduces herself as Kara.

After Tobin orders, Alex catches the smile on Kara’s face as she looks between the two before turning towards the kitchen.  “I think we have a fan,” Alex says softly when she is far enough away.

Tobin slowly turns and looks around at the other tables.  After not finding anyone staring back at them she turns to Alex confused.  “Who?”

“Our waitress,” Alex smiles.  “I think she smiled cause we’re here together.”

“It’s her job to be nice.”

Alex tilts her head to the side and shakes it.  “Not that kind of smile Tobs.”

“You’re pretty hot.  Ya sure she wasn’t just checking you out?” Tobin jokes, looking towards where their waitress disappeared to moments ago.  Alex reaches across the table, holding her hand out for Tobin who quickly takes it.  

Alex puts her other hand on top and looks up into Tobin’s eyes.  “I’m pretty sure you ordering for me makes it obvious we’re on a date.”  Alex softly rubs the back of Tobin’s hand with her thumb.  “Also I’m almost positive she recognized us,” she adds.

Tobin shrugs and looks back towards the door to the kitchen where Kara just appeared with the iced tea she ordered.  “As long as I don’t have to fight anyone for you.”

“Hey,” Alex says, squeezing Tobin’s hand and gaining her attention.  “You never have to fight for me because I will choose _you_ everytime.  I will choose you over anything.”

“Here’s your iced tea,” Kara says, placing it down on the table and looking between the two again before backing away.  “I will have your food out as soon as possible.”  Alex smiles at her before turning back to Tobin who already is sucking on the straw in her drink.  

Tobin raises her eyebrow at Alex.  “I think you need to just put her out of her misery,” Tobin says around the straw.  

Alex rolls her eyes at Tobin.  “She was staring at you too.”  They sit in silence for a few seconds until Alex rubs her hands together.  “Hey, Tobs?”

“Mhmm.” Tobin smiles at Alex, slipping her sandal off and starting to reach her foot out.

The top of Tobin’s foot reaches the back of Alex’s bare calf as Alex asks, “Can you tell me about the hospital?” Alex looks down at her lap then back to Tobin.  “Well, hi.”

Her foot stays still against Alex’s skin as she tries to figure out how to respond.  “What do you want to know?”

“Just like who was there and what was happening.  I only really know what the media was reporting but they didn’t actually know anything so it’s not very accurate.”

Tobin withdraws her foot and puts her arms, crossed, down on the table, leaning forward.  “Okay. Let’s see.  Well the whole team came after the game but I rode in the ambulance with you so it was just me for a while until they got there.”

“Wait.  You were alone?” Alex asks, surprised.  “Why didn’t I know this?  For how long?”

Tobin nods, “I don’t really know.  I wasn’t...really paying attention to the time.  I was in the waiting room for what felt like forever then they brought me to a conference room for what felt even longer.” Tobin takes a deep breath and looks down to her glass.  “The team eventually got there and then we all sat around waiting to hear something.” Tobin takes a deep breath to gather the strength to continue, “  You were in surgery for hours and they hadn’t told me anything.  Eventually Dr. Liu came and told me they were closing you up.”  Tobin looks up at Alex, “Keep going?”

“If you can,” Alex says, placing her hand on Tobin’s arm to comfort her.

“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.  So they eventually let me see you and the team came up in pairs.  I don’t really remember a lot of that, I was so focused on you and just happy you were alive.  I know most of them offered to stay but I told them no so they could go see their families.  Kel and Amy stayed for an extra day but that had been planned before.  Your parents got there at some point that morning and Kelley dragged me outside to go eat with Amy and Cheney.  That was really the only time I was away from your bed for more than ten minutes until you woke up.  I mostly sat next to you and cried or read my bible or both.”  

Alex sees Tobin wipe at her eyes.  “Tobin, you don’t have to keep going if you don’t want.”

“No,” Tobin shakes her head, forcing a small smile on her face.  “What other questions do you have?”

Alex checks Tobin’s face before asking.  “What were you feeling when I woke up?”

“I don’t even remember.  I don’t think elation is a strong enough word.  I thought it was a dream at first, but it was the only good dream I had had since you were brought in.” Tobin smiles.  “You looked so frail and weak but you were awake and talking and there had been a chance that would never happen again.  I had you back and I honestly didn’t care how.”  The smile drops off of Tobin’s face.  “Then...then...you asked for Servando.”

Alex squeezes Tobin’s hand.  “I’m sorry.”

Tobin shakes her head.  “No.  It’s not your fault.”

A silence falls over the table and Alex looks down at the rings that hang from Tobin’s neck. “It might not have been perfect but it all worked out I think.”

Tobin bobs her head.  “Honestly, I’m glad everything is working out.  I’m glad you want to be with me again...” Tobin trails off.

“...but,” Alex draws out, knowing it’s coming.

“But,” Tobin sighs, “I would take you not remembering any part of us, still pining over Serv, and hating me just to have you waking up.  Those few moments after you woke up were my everything.  That memory was what got me through those months that you were still figuring things out.”

“I’m sorry it took so long.”  Alex weakly smiles at Tobin.  “Looking back now it should have happened much sooner and I wish it had.”

“It happened though,” Tobin assures her.  “I would have waited years if it meant you would find your way back to me.”  Tobin looks up to the ceiling.  “I probably would have waited for you even if you told me everyday for the rest of my life it was over.”

“Well it’s not over.  You have me now,” Alex comforts. “That’s the only forever you need to worry about.”

Tobin beams at Alex, “I should have ordered you mac’n’cheese.”

Alex shakes her head and pushes Tobin’s hand away.  “Just accept my love.”

Tobin reaches back across the table grabbing Alex’s hand in both of hers.  She stares into her eyes as she says, “Your love is the one thing that has kept me going.”

“And you call me cheesy,” Alex wonders out loud.

Kara appears and sets their food down in front of them before Tobin can respond.  They each thank her and she walks away.  Alex looks down at her plate then smiles up at Tobin, “This looks good.  Thank you.”  

Tobin gives a soft smile before digging into her food.

“Eat up,” Alex says.  “You’ll need the energy.”

Tobin starts choking on the bite she just swallowed.  She reaches for her water gulps down a few sips, still coughing.  After a minute she looks up to Alex who is silently laughing.

“You okay?” Alex asks, delicately placing a piece of chicken in her mouth.

Tobin nods.  “Yeah,” she replies hoarsely before taking another sip of water.  “Just…” she takes a breath, “wasn’t expecting you to say that.”

“Say what?” Alex asks, feigning innocence. “I just meant that we have practice tomorrow so we need energy.  What did you think I meant.”  Tobin raises an eyebrow and the soft smile on Alex’s face turns into a smirk.

Tobin shakes her head and laughs, picking up a forkful of her mashed potatoes.  “Just eat your food.”

Alex reaches her foot out and strokes Tobin’s jean clad leg. “You make it very hard to want to do anything.”

Tobin rolls her eyes, “What am I going to do with you?”

Alex wets her lips before sucking her bottom lip between her teeth. “I can think of a few things.”

Tobin shakes her head and lets out a laugh.  “If I say we can skip dessert, can you take it down a few notches?”

Alex leans her elbows onto the table, a huge smirk across her face.  “What if I don’t want to skip dessert?”

Tobin pulls both lips between her teeth trying to hide the smile.  She looks into Alex’s eyes, seeing the fire behind them.  “Can we eat first?  Please.”

Alex sees the hope in Tobin’s eyes and leans back.  “Only because you said please, but you’ve been sleeping in just your sports bra everyday this week and it’s been driving me crazy.”  Tobin smirks and takes another bite of food.  She shrugs as she uses her fork to point at Alex’s plate.  Alex stares at her, shocked.  “You knew?” she asks almost appalled.

Tobin shrugs, “You sometimes forget that we dated for…,” Tobin bobs her head, “a pretty long time.  I know what you like... in general and about me.”

Alex scowls at her, “So you ready for practice tomorrow.”

Tobin chuckles, “Yeah, Norbs isn’t very fun to nutmeg.”

They keep their topics of conversation light for the rest of the meal.  Kara walks up to the table once both plates are empty,  “So how was everything?”

“Great,” Tobin smiles, breaking eye contact with Alex and looking up.

“Do you guys want to see the dessert menu?” Kara asks as she starts to clear the table.

Alex sees the smirk in Tobin’s eyes and quickly jumps in. “No, we’re good,” Alex says loudly, “just the check would be great.”

Tobin starts laughing as Kara takes a deep breath to control her elevated heart rate from Alex’s outburst.  Tobin rolls her eyes at Alex before turning to the young woman standing over them. “The check will be fine, Kara.  Thanks.”

Kara nods, “I’ll be right back,” and walks away.  She returns a minute later, placing the check book down.  Tobin holds her hand up to stop her.  She grabs the check and places her card inside of it.  She hands it to Kara who is standing still next to the table.  She takes it with a smile and walks away.  

Tobin stares into Alex’s eyes with a smug look across her face, her eyebrow twitching every few seconds.  Alex leans forward on her elbows whispering, “If you don’t stop looking at me like that we’re not going to make it to practice tomorrow.”

Confusion crosses Tobin’s face.  “Explain.”

“Pretty sure if I take you on the table right now we’re going to end up in jail.”  Alex lightly runs her nail over the back of Tobin’s hand.  Tobin gulps as Kara places the check down in front of Tobin.

“Have a great evening and I just want to say I’m glad you two are back together.”

Tobin smiles up at her, turning her hand to squeeze Alex’s, “Thank you.”

Tobin grabs the black checkbook from the table as Alex starts talking to her about the Thorns.  After a minute, Tobin slides the book towards Alex, “Lex can you sign instead?”

Alex turns away from her conversation, confused.  “Uh, sure.”  Alex opens the book seeing Tobin already signed.  She starts to look up but notices the customer copy on the other side.  She flips it over and sees Tobin has written a note.

_Kara,_

_Thank you for helping make this night special.  We’ll be back (this is Alex’s favorite spot) so we will probably see you again.  Hope to see you at the next Thorns game.  Let us know when you’re coming and we’ll hook you up._

_Love,_

Tobin then had signed her name underneath, leaving enough room for Alex to sign her name as well.  Alex looks up to see Tobin laughing with Kara about Norbert and her dog.  Alex quickly signs her name and closes the book.

She grabs her bag and stands up, “Ready, babe?”

Tobin’s head turns, the smile still spread wide across her face. “Sure, _babe_.”  She turns back to Kara as she stands up.  “Thanks again.”

~~~

“So _babe_ …,” Tobin smirks as she gets into the car.  “Where to now?  Movies?  A walk?  The sta-”

“If you don’t take me home right now, you’re walking,” Alex threatens.

Tobin holds up one hand as she uses the other to slide the key into the ignition.  “Okay, okay. Pushy, pushy.”  The car roars to life and Tobin starts her drive home.  Alex quickly reaches over and grabs Tobin’s free hand.  She turns her body towards her, bring one leg up to the seat.  She pulls Tobin’s hand into her lap and traces patterns on the back of her hand.  Tobin turns to Alex when they get to a stop light and smiles at her.  Alex leans over quickly and presses a kiss to her lips.

~~~

Tobin leads Alex to the door and stops.  “Well, I had fun tonight.  We should do this again.  I’ll call you.”  Tobin takes a step back down the steps before Alex reaches out and stops her by grabbing her arm.

“Nope.  Not getting away that easy.”  Alex turns back and pulls her keys out.

“Inviting me in on the third date.  Very _forward_ of you Miss Morgan,” Tobin quips behind her. Alex shakes her head, slides the key into the door, and pushes it open.  Tobin quickly bends down to catch Norbert.  “Hey, little man,” she says as he flops onto his back so she can rub his tummy.

“Why don’t you go let him out?” Alex says as she steps into the house.

Tobin nods. “Sure,” not looking up as she answers.

“And Tobin,” Alex says from just inside the door.  Tobin hums not looking up.

“Don’t take too long,” Alex calls behind her as she heads towards the bedroom.

Tobin looks up, watching Alex disappear down the hall.  “Okay, Norbs.  Let’s make this quick because Mommy doesn’t like to be kept waiting and between you and me it’s been a while.” Tobin stands up whistling and leads him out into the yard.

After a few minutes she walks into the house, looking down at her phone while walking.  She opens the door to the bedroom and turns towards the closet.  Alex clears her throat from the bed causing Tobin to turn her head.

Tobin trips on the next step but is able to keep upright.  Alex chuckles softly while Tobin’s eyes rake Alex’s barely clothed body. “You uh...you look good,” Tobin comments.

“Are you going to come join me?” Alex pats the bed next to her.  Tobin kicks her shoes off and approaches the foot of the bed climbing on.  She crawls over to Alex on hands and knees, her legs between Alex’s and her hands holding her up.  She rubs her teeth against her lip as she looks at the soft, warm body below her. “You can touch me, you know,” Alex reminds her, noticing that there is at least an inch of space between them at all possible points of contact. Tobin looks down, biting her lip harder as she stares at the white lace bra Alex is wearing.

“I know.  I’m just…,” Tobin looks back up to Alex, “admiring the view.”

Alex rolls her eyes and reaches her hands up, cupping Tobin’s neck and pulling her down. Tobin easily gives in and lets Alex lead, her hands staying on either side of her, pressed down into the bed. Alex runs her right hand through Tobin’s hair, pulling gently, while her left hand runs down Tobin’s back.  Tobin slips her tongue into Alex’s mouth eliciting a moan.  

Both of Alex’s hands start pulling on Tobin’s shirt, trying to pull it up.  Tobin pulls back, kneeling between Alex’s legs. She grabs the collar of her shirt and tries to pull it up over her head.  Alex reaches her hand out and runs it over Tobin’s exposed stomach.  She sits up to kiss the newly exposed skin while the shirt drops to the floor.  Her hands move to the jean covered hips and slowly start working towards the front.  

Tobin puts her hand on Alex’s shoulder and pushes Alex back.  The confused look on Alex’s face causes her to lean down and press a soft kiss to her lips before moving to her ear.  “You wanted something earlier.  Let me give it to you,” Tobin whispers.  Tobin’s lips move down to Alex’s earlobe and start nibbling.  Her hands work under Alex’s back, pushing their chests together.  Her lips start working down Alex’s neck as her fingers snap the bra loose.  Alex’s breath catches and Tobin leans up staring into her eyes.  “Is this okay?”

Alex nods, “Yeah.”  Tobin smiles as her fingers softly pull the bra strap down one arm.  Alex watches Tobin’s face nervously but the way Tobin’s eyes light up as she tosses the bra settles her.  

Tobin looks back up to Alex and leans down, pressing their lips together fiercely.  She pulls back after a minute and stares down into her favorite blue eyes.  “I love you.”

Alex smiles back up at Tobin, the last sliver of doubt in her mind slips away as she stares up into the warmth of Tobin’s brown eyes. “I love you, too.”  She leans up to reconnect their lips and her hands rub over Tobin’s back.  Tobin’s lips quickly move from her lips down to her neck and Alex’s breath picks back up.  She brings her hand up Alex’s side, her thumb reaching the rise of Alex’s boob.  She works her way lower kissing and sucking along Alex’s collar bone.

Alex pushes her chest up as Tobin’s thumb brushes just under her nipple.  Her chest falls and rises faster. Tobin works her lips even lower, her hand on Alex’s hip and bringing them closer together.  A moan escapes Alex’s lips as Tobin sucks on her skin, her thumb finally brushing over Alex’s nipple.  Tobin smiles against her skin and works her hand to cover Alex’s boob, squeezing.  Alex reaches around Tobin’s back, her nails digging into the skin.  Tobin glances up to Alex and sees her head pushed back into the pillow.  

Tobin shifts lower, nibbling down, as she brings her lips closer to where Alex wants them.  Alex moans again, pushing her chest up.  Tobin pushes her hips down as her lips reach Alex’s nipple.  She sucks it into her mouth, flicking her tongue over it.  She feels Alex’s nails digging into her neck and back.  She lightly nibbles on the raised skin and Alex’s hand immediately moves to the clasp holding Tobin’s bra in place.  She fumbles with it for a moment before freeing it.  Alex places her hands on Tobin’s shoulders and pushes the straps down.  Tobin brings up her hand that is holding Alex’s hip so the strap can be pushed off.   Alex pulls the bra from in between them so it dangles from Tobin’s wrist as she continues to rub Alex’s chest.  With a quick flick of her wrist the bra is on the floor and Tobin’s mouth moves to the other side.  She grinds her hips down into Alex and sucks on her soft skin.  

Alex runs her hands through Tobin’s hair, holding her head close.  Alex grips fistfulls of hair when Tobin’s hand rubs down her leg, bending it and wrapping it around her lower back.  Alex tightens her grip, grinding her center up against Tobin.  Tobin grazes her teeth over the soft skin before sucking on the skin right above her nipple.  

After leaving quite a few bruises across Alex’s chest Tobin kisses up to Alex’s lips, both of them breathing heavy.  Alex stops grinding up into Tobin and lowers her leg and twists it around Tobin’s.  She slides her hands down Tobin’s back, slipping them into the back pockets of her jeans and squeezing. She then places her hands on Tobin’s shoulders and pushes her up.  

Tobin quickly moves up onto her hands, hovering over Alex.  Her chest heaving as she smiles down at Alex, “Was that okay?”

Alex nods, “I just want to see you.”  Her eyes roam down Tobin’s half clothed body.  She tentatively reaches out her right hand and Tobin bites her lip.  Her hand cups the bottom of Tobin’s boob and she brushes her thumb over the hard nipple.  

“You’re beautiful,” Alex breaths.  Tobin blushes and leans down to push her lips against Alex’s.  Alex hooks her fingers into Tobin’s jeans and pulls.  “Can I?”  Tobin searches her eyes for a moment before giving a soft nod.  Alex quickly undoes the button and pulls the zipper down.  She then pushes on Tobin’s shoulder, forcing her onto her back.  

Alex kneels next to Tobin who places her hand on her lower back while they work together to slide the jeans down.  The jeans hit the floor and she softly moans while looking over Tobin’s body, covered only by the black underwear that hugs her hips.  She traces her finger right above the band and feels the muscles contracting under her fingers.

She swings her leg over Tobin’s hip and sits back on her thighs.  Tobin’s hands rub Alex’s thighs as she watches the forwards eyes and hands inspect her body.  

Alex brushes her thumbs over Tobin’s nipples, looking up when a soft moan escapes Tobin’s lips.  Tobin looks at Alex through hooded eyes.  Alex slowly leans down to Tobin’s chest, moving her right hand to the bed for support.  Her warm breath causes Tobin’s chest to arc up.  Alex pulls back with a smirk.

Tobin whimpers and looks to where Alex hovers above her.  “You haven’t changed a bit,” Tobin groans.

The smirk on her face grows, “Whatever do you mean?”

Tobin rolls her eyes, “Just glad to know that no matter how hard you hit your head, you will always be a tease.”

“Oh, my love,” Alex coos.  She leans down again and softly kisses the nipple.  “Is this better?” Alex asks, pulling away slightly.  Tobin pushes her chest up to Alex’s lips in response.  Alex pulls back again, putting a serious face on.  “Is there something that you want?”

“Alex,” Tobin moans.  

Alex wets her lips and runs her finger down the center of Tobin’s chest.  “I like hearing you beg.”

Tobin whimpers again, banging her head back into the pillow.  “Lex, please.”

Alex takes pity on Tobin and leans down, sucking hard on the left nipple, while her fingers pinch the other.  Tobin’s hand quickly finds the back of Alex’s head and hold her there.  Alex’s unbusy hand works down Tobin’s side to her hip.  Tobin lifts her hips and Alex’s fingers dance along the underwear line between them.  

Alex’s fingers push against the skin and slide down, under the band.  She bites down on the skin above her nipple as she starts to feel the heat from between Tobin’s legs.  Tobin places her hand on Alex’s elbow and the other on her shoulder.  “Alex,” Tobin says softly, tilting her head to look down.

Alex pulls her hand out and places it on the bed next to her.  She looks up finding lust filled eyes looking back.  “Do you want me to stop?” she asks, her face falling slightly.

“No, but…,” Tobin moves her hand up to Alex’s cheek, stroking it with her thumb, “do you?  Are you ready for this?”

Alex reaches up with the hand that is on Tobin’s chest to her cheek, sliding up slightly and kissing Tobin’s jaw.  “Can you just talk to me? Tell me if it doesn’t feel good or something.”

Tobin nods, “If you’re sure.”  

“I think I am.”  Alex blushes, looking down at Tobin’s chest, “I kind of want to get you off,” she looks up at Tobin nervously, “if that’s okay?”  

Tobin smirks and  cranes her neck to reach Alex’s lips.  “Of course it is,” Tobin says into the kiss.

Alex smiles against Tobin’s lips then pushes her shoulder back down.  “Sit back and enjoy.”

“Should I get some popcorn?”  Tobin jokes.

Alex looks up from where she was about to start sucking on Tobin’s skin.  “Make another joke and you’ll find out how much of a tease I really am,” Alex dares.  Tobin’s eyes widen and she quickly pretends to zip her lips shut and throw away the key.

Alex smirks, leaning down and softly placing kisses around Tobin’s chest, working her nerve up to continue.  After a minute she puts her hand back on Tobin’s stomach and slides it under the band.  Her finger reaches the slit and Alex feels the moisture as she lets her fingers slowly slide farther down.  Tobin’s breath catches and Alex looks up from where she is watching her hand disappear further into the black fabric.  Tobin’s eyes are closed and her right hand is on her chest, softly squeezing.  Alex watches her for a moment until the movement stops.  Alex looks up and finds Tobin staring down at her.

“Carry on,” Alex smirks, flicking her tongue out against Tobin’s nipple.  Tobin keeps her eye contact with Alex as her hand starts moving again.  Alex’s fingers move lower and Tobin’s eyes close.  Alex pauses at the peak of her clit for a moment then her pointer finger and middle finger slowly start rubbing circles.  Tobin lets out a soft moan, encouraging Alex to continue.  Alex starts rubbing harder and places her lips around Tobin’s nipple, nibbling on it.  Tobin’s hips start rocking against Alex’s hand and her hand tangles in Alex’s hair.  

“Kiss me,” Tobin begs, her voice strained.  Alex crawls up as quick as she can while still working her fingers against Tobin’s clit.  Alex mashes their lips together and Tobin quickly works her tongue into Alex mouth.  She slowly draws it back, running it against the roof of her mouth.  Alex moans into Tobin and starts sucking on her lip, rubbing her tongue over it.  Tobin moans again and pushes her hips up into Alex’s hands.

Alex pulls away and moves her lips to Tobin’s neck, sucking over her racing pulse.  Tobin’s breathing becomes more erratic, each exhale letting out a soft moan.  Alex moves up to Tobin’s ear, nibbling on her earlobe.  “Does this feel good?” she asks seductively.

“Mmhm,” Tobin squeaks, nodding.  “So good,” she breathes.

Alex smiles as her teeth graze down Tobin’s neck.  Her fingers keep working against Tobin’s clit.  The moans coming from Tobin grow louder.  Alex sucks hard against her collarbone before moving back up to Tobin’s ear.  She presses her lips against it, whispering, “Let go for me, baby.  Come for me.”  

Tobin pushes her hips against Alex’s hand.  One hand grips at her chest while the other digs into Alex’s back.  Alex rubs her hand faster causing Tobin to moan even louder. Alex grins and quickly moves her lips down to Tobin’s nipple, rubbing it between her lips, helping Tobin ride out her orgasm.  After Tobin’s moans decrease in volume  and then stop, she stills her hand and looks up to Tobin.  Her girlfriend lays back, eyes closed, panting.

Alex pulls her hand out of the underwear and crawls up next to Tobin.  She wipes her fingers on the sheets next to them and leans down to Tobin’s lips.  She softly presses against them a few times while Tobin regains her breathing, finally opening her eyes.

“Hi,” Alex whispers, staring into the unfocused eyes..

“That was…,” Tobin pauses looking for any word, “amazing.”

Alex smiles big, “Really?”

Tobin nods, her chest still heaving.  She reaches out and brushes some hair around Alex’s ear and leans up to kiss her.  “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Alex replies.  She kicks the comforter down.  “Can we snuggle before falling asleep?”

Tobin’s face falls slightly, “Oh...uh, yeah...You don’t...you don’t want me to... ya know....return the favor?”

Alex shakes her head slightly, “I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet.”

Tobin nods in understanding, “Gotcha.  Do you want to be big spoon or little?”

“Big,” Alex says, with regained confidence.  

Tobin smiles and rolls over, pushing her back against Alex.  “Little spoon at your service.”

~~~

Alex wakes up in the middle of the bed still cradling Tobin in her arms.  She smiles and bows her head to kiss the tanned shoulder when she realizes they are both still shirtless.  Alex pulls the covers down slightly and lets her eyes take in the sight of Tobin’s bare chest rising and falling with each even breath.  Alex lets her hand slide from Tobin’s side up to the many bruises that cover Tobin’s chest.  She runs her fingers over the purple skin as she recalls the moans coming out of Tobin’s mouth while she made them.  Her hand slides down and runs over Tobin’s hard nipple.  She watches Tobin’s face as she pinches it slightly but gets no reaction.

Alex then lets her hand slide down Tobin’s torso and dipping under the covers.  She finds the band of Tobin’s underwear and quickly slides her hand underneath.  She smiles at the memory of last night and looks down at Tobin’s peaceful face. She then moves her arm that is under Tobin’s neck to continue rubbing her chest while she slowly places soft kisses across Tobin’s shoulder.

“Alex?” Tobin’s raspy, sleep filled voice question.

Alex hands freeze. “Yes.”

“Whatcha doin’?” Tobin asks more awake, turning her head.

She tucks her lips in, smiling, before pressing soft kisses to Tobin’s neck.  “I really liked last night.”

“No regrets?” Tobin asks.  She checks Alex’s eyes after she shakes her head.  “Because it’s okay if you want to slow things down.”

Alex hand twitches under the only piece of clothing Tobin is wearing.  “Does it really seem like I want to slow down?”

“No,” Tobin says softly, “but I just want to check.”

Alex leans back up, moving her lips against Tobin’s.  Her hand starts working lower again and Tobin spreads her legs slightly so she has easier access.  Alex’s fingers brush against Tobin’s clit and she moans into her mouth.

Alex pulls back and Tobin rolls to her back.  She throws her leg over Tobin’s hip, her arm her fingers slowly rub circles around her clit.  Alex starts to lean down when a loud beeping sounds on the night stand next to them.

Alex’s head drops to Tobin’s shoulder in defeat.  Tobin reaches her arm out hitting the table a few times before reaching the alarm.  Alex pulls her hand out and climbs off of Tobin.  “To be continued,” she says, walking to the closet

~~~

Alex walks into the kitchen to Tobin making them breakfast.  She sits down at the table and pulls out her phone.

**AMorgs: What is sex?**

A plate is placed in front of her and she looks up, puckering her lips.  Tobin smiles and leans down to oblige.

Once they finish eating, they grab their bags and head to Tobin’s car.  Alex’s phone vibrates in her hand as she gets in the car.

**Kel: Well this was a nice message to get after practice**

**AMorgs: …**

They drive the ten minutes to the field with no response from Kelley. Alex looks over to Tobin as she pulls their bags out of the trunk.

Tobin hands Alex her bag which she quickly straps over her shoulder.  They walk to the locker room hand in hand but separate to they head to their lockers.  

Alex sits down and starts to change into her cleats when her phone vibrates.  She finishes lacing them up then grabs her phone.

**Kel: Sorry had to have a house meeting**

**Kel: We decided that sex is when two people love eachother very much they go to the bedroom or kitchen counter to show how much each other the love or it could be a one night stand but I don’t think that’s what you’re referring to**

Alex rolls her eyes before groan ing and quickly typing.

**AMorgs: Pleasepleaseplease tell me you didn’t tell the rest of your frat that I’m asking you about this**

**AMorgs: also that answer is not helpful at all**

Alex looks up when she hears Tobin laugh and sees Allie standing next to her.  She looks back down to her phone.

**Kel: They don’t know who it is and explain better what you want to know... pretty sure you’ve had sex before**

Alex looks at the time seeing she still has a few minutes and curls into her locker.  

**AMorgs: Not with a woman.   I don’t know what counts?**

**Kel: I think that’s between you and her Al. Do you think you had sex?**

**AMorgs: Yes and no**

**Kel: Ask her and let me know.  We need to have a party when it happens**

Alex puts her phone in her bag and heads out of the locker room.

~~~

Allie walks over to Alex after practice sitting down in Christine’s empty locker.  “So Alex,” she starts.  “I thought Tobin was taking you out to dinner.  Not feeding herself to you.”

Alex turns to Allie clamping her hand over her mouth.  “What?”

Allie smirks and looks beyond Alex.  Alex turns her head to see Tobin with her back turned, talking to Hayley with her shirt in her hand.  “Hey, Tobs,” Allie calls ducking out of Alex’s hand.

Tobin turns and Alex sees a large hickie sticking out of Tobin’s sports bra, one they hadn’t covered.  Tobin grins big waiting for one of them to speak.  “How was date night?” Allie finally asks.

The grin that comes over Tobin’s face makes Alex blush and Allie doesn’t miss it as Tobin responds. “It was great.  Thanks for letting me hang out.”

“Just remember you owe me dinner,” Allie responds with a smile.

“Want to come over tonight?  After practice?” Tobin asks, throwing her cleats into her locker.  “We could have a big team thing,” Tobin offers as she starts searching through her bag.  

Alex turns and looks to Tobin but she isn’t looking back. Alex’s fists clench at her sides and Allie smirks next to her.  “Not tonight.  Bati is taking me out.  Maybe when we get back from Seattle.”

Tobin shrugs and slides the necklace over her head.  Allie leans over to Alex, whispering, “You owe me too.”  

Alex turns to Allie, “What?”

“Just be careful where you mark your territory,” Allie grins before patting Alex’s leg and standing up.  “Don’t think I’m oblivious to all your concealer too missy.”

Allie moves to her locker and looks back at Alex who is staring back wide eyed.  Allie winks and starts to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a few chapters left...also not sure how long it's going to be until the next chapter cause I'm not sure exactly what's happening next


	28. Everyone knows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took so long...had a bit of writers block...not super happy with this chapter but it wasn't going to get any better so here it is.

Alex walks into the kitchen, her wet hair brushed back, and sees Tobin standing at the counter cutting mushrooms.  She notices two pots on the stove as she heads towards her girlfriend.  She snakes her arms around Tobin’s waist and lightly presses a kiss to her neck.  “I hope pasta is okay,” Tobin says as she continues to dice the mushrooms in front of her.

Alex hums her agreement before pulling her lips away.  “Do you need any help?”

“Want to feed Norbie?” Tobin asks.  Alex tilts her head to press her lips against Tobin’s cheek before reaching out to grab his bowl from the drying rack.  

Once his bowl is filled and placed next to his water bowl Alex walks back over to Tobin, who is slowly stirring the mushrooms into the sauce.  “What’s left?”

Tobin shakes her head, pulling the spoon out and setting it down.  She turns around to face Alex. “Just need a few more minutes for this to finish then we can eat.”

Alex smiles and grabs Tobin’s hips pushing them back against the counter.  Before Tobin can react, Alex’s lips are on hers and her fingers are sneaking under the white v-neck.  Tobin pushes into the kiss, quickly flipping their positions.  She reaches her hands down, cupping the top of her thighs and pulling up. She lifts Alex who’s legs quickly wrap around her waist while Tobin sets her down on top of the counter.  Tobin tilts her head down to place open kisses along Alex’s pulse.

Alex lets her head fall to the side to give Tobin easier access.  Tobin pulls away after a minute, her hands pulling Alex’s legs from her waist.  She moves to the stove and turns the burners off.  She looks to Alex, “Eat or no?”

Alex groans and slips off the counter.  “You cooked so we should eat.”

They both sit and start eating their food faster than normal.  “So,” Tobin says breaking the silence, “you’re not wearing a bra.”

Alex looks down at the black t-shirt she is wearing then back up at Tobin, slowly chewing.  “That is correct.”  Alex shrugs, “Just didn’t see a point if I’m going to beg you to take off later.”  Tobin’s fork pauses halfway to her mouth as she stares across the table at Alex.  Alex smirks back, “Do you want me to beg because I can go put one on...” Alex reaches her foot out and rubs it against Tobin’s leg, “and _beg_ for you to take it off?”  Tobin moves the fork up to her mouth to give her time to think of a response.  Alex just smiles and continues eating.  

Once they are done eating, Alex puts away their leftovers while Tobin scrubs the pots.  Alex finishes first and moves behind Tobin.  She pulls all of the midfielder’s hair over one shoulder and moves her lips to the now exposed skin.  Alex’s hands reach around to Tobin’s front as she presses soft open mouthed kisses against the warm skin.  She slips her hand inside Tobin’s shorts and underwear and can hear Tobin’s breathing start to pick up.  Her other hand grips Tobin’s strong arm, feeling the muscles contract and relax as she mindlessly continues scrubbing at the pot.

Alex’s right hand keeps reaching further down, and she tilts her lips to Tobin’s ear.  “You’re already wet for me,” she whispers.  Her fingers find what they are looking for and press down softly.

Tobin bites her lip, “Mmhm.”

“You’re so hot,” Alex breathes.  She gazes down into the sink and sees Tobin is rubbing the sponge in circles about two inches above the pot.  Alex slides her hand down to Tobin’s and pulls the sponge from her grip, dropping it in the sink.  She bends her elbow and grabs hold of Tobin’s right shoulder, holding their bodies close together as Alex’s fingers start to push harder.

“Al-ex,” Tobin says through breaths.  “Bed now.”

“What if I want to do you right here?” Alex asks seductively.

“Sit,” Tobin whimpers so softly Alex almost doesn’t hear it.  She smiles at the girl in her arms and slowly retracts both hands.  Tobin turns around, cheeks flushed.   “Sorry.  I can usually stand for more than five minutes.”

Alex starts to worry.  “Am I doing something wrong?”

Tobin’s hands grip her waist before she can take a step back, shaking her head.  “No.  It’s just… been a while.  I’m... more sensitive.”

Alex nods in response and looks over Tobin’s body.  “So the only way to fix that is by doing this a lot...right?”

Tobin laughs, leaning up to kiss her lips.  “Whatever you want, Lex.”

“ _Well_ , what I want is you... naked... in _our_ bed,” Alex replies quickly.  The laugh disappears and is soon replaced by dark, lust filled eyes staring up at Alex.

Alex’s hands move to the bottom of Tobin’s shirt and, in one swift motion, pulsl it off.  The shirt falls to the floor as Alex’s fingertips run down Tobin’s smooth, strong stomach.  Hooking a finger into her shorts, Alex leads her to the bedroom.  

As soon as they are both in the room, Tobin grabs Alex’s hips and pushes her into the wall next to the door.  Alex’s hand work to push Tobin’s shorts and underwear down while their lips move together.  

Tobin’s steps out of the discarded clothing while her hands slide up Alex’s side under her shirt.  She pulls back just enough to lift Alex’s shirt over her head, and bites her lip looking down at Alex’s bare chest.  Tobin drops the shirt to the floor and Alex pushes into Tobin, her hand moving between Tobin’s legs.  Tobin’s eyes shut as she moans at the touch, her hands finding Alex’s hips for support. Alex pushes her back to the bed, while reaching behind Tobin’s back to snap her bra off.

When the back of Tobin’s legs hit the bed,  the pressure on her clit doesn’t let up.  Tobin falls back against the bed and Alex climbs on top of her, roughly pulling the straps from her shoulders and tossing the bra away.  Alex reaches under her and easily slides her up  to the pillows.  Tobin’s hands move to Alex’s hips, her thumbs rub at the elastic band of the shorts she’s still wearing.  She notices Alex flinch subtly and sees the nervousness in her eyes.  She quickly moves her hands up to Alex’s sides over her ribs.  

Tobin leans up to capture Alex’s lips while Alex’s left hand moves back between her legs.  It only takes Alex a few minutes to have Tobin’s hands gripping and scratching at her arms and back while her body pushes up into Alex’s.  After Tobin’s moans turn to loud panting Alex retracts her hand from between Tobin’s legs and places it on her chest.  Alex lays in Tobin’s arms as the midfielder tries to recover.  She kisses her jaw and mindlessly swirls her fingertips around Tobin’s chest.  “You’re really hot,” Alex softly tells her.

Tobin smiles, her eyes barely open and puckers her lips.  Alex sits up and leans over her, softly kissing her.  Alex pulls back and looks down.  She reaches out and tucks a few loose hairs behind Tobin’s ear before leaning down to softly suck on Tobin’s lip.  Tobin brings her hand to Alex’s back, rubbing softly.

Alex wraps her in a hug and buries her face into Tobin’s neck. After a few minutes, Alex pulls back. She reaches to turn  off the bedside light before grabbing the comforter and pulling it up over them.  Alex lays back down next to Tobin and places her hand flat on the center of Tobin’s chest.  

Tobin tightens her grip around Alex, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I love you, Lex.”

~~~

Before the bus has even pulled out of the hotel parking lot on it’s way back to Portland from Seattle, Tobin kicks her shoes off and moves her feet to Alex’s lap.

“Um. Hi.  Can I help you?” Alex laughs.

Tobin shakes her head as she moves closer.  She slides her arm behind Alex’s neck and leans her head down.  With her practically sitting in Alex’s lap, she smiles and stops moving.  “Perfect.”

Alex presses her lips to Tobin’s forehead, “I love you.”  She wraps her around Tobin, holding her tight.

Tobin looks up from Alex’s shoulder a small smile spreading her lips. “I love you, too.”  

“I love you, three,” Allie says, turning in her seat in front to face them.

“We love you, too, Harry.” Tobin says into Alex’s sweatshirt, looking at Allie through the corner of her eye.

Halfway through their trip, Alex is woken up by her phone vibrating in her hand.  She looks down at Tobin still in her lap, her eyes glued to her phone. She squeezes Tobin tighter and rests her cheek against the top of Tobin’s head.  Tobin looks up, “Hi sleepy head.”

Alex whimpers and rubs her cheek against Tobin’s hair.  “I missed sleeping with you.”  

“Okay, we can sleep for the rest of the day when we get home, but can I get up?  This position is killing my shoulder,” Tobin says shifting uncomfortably.

“Oh, yeah sorry.” Alex sits up and watches Tobin slide back into her own seat before standing up to stretch out her whole body.  Alex looks down at her phone to look away from Tobin and sees she has a text from Allie.  She opens the message to find a picture of her sleeping against Tobin’s head.  Tobin is smiling towards the camera.

She then looks at the message below.

**Allie: I don’t think I’ve seen her this happy for no reason in a long time**

Alex looks over at Tobin who is rolling her shoulder out, talking to Hayley two rows back. She leans forward, “Do you have other pictures of us?”

Allie looks up from her magazine, “Huh?”

“From like before everything.  Do you have pictures of me and Tobin?” Alex asks.

“Oh my God.  Way too many.”  Allie picks up her phone to start looking.  Alex stands up and moves to the empty seat next to her.  Allie finally scrolls back through her pictures far enough to get to the previous year.  There is one of the three of them, Allie with a sad face as Alex holds Tobin’s face and kisses her.  Alex laughs and Allie keeps swiping through her photos pausing on pictures of Alex and Tobin.  She pauses on a close up photo of Tobin beaming at something off camera. “This might be one of my favorites.”

“Why?  Is she looking at me?” Alex asks trying to figure out what is in the background.  She can tell Tobin is inside but nothing more.

“Nope.  Pretty sure you were in L.A.”  Allie responds, looking up as Tobin walks back to her seat.  “Remember this photo, Har?”

Tobin leans over the back of Alex’s seat to look at the screen.  A smile comes over her face, “Yeah. Almost a year ago.”

“Are either of you going to tell me what this is of?”

Tobin reaches down and grabs Alex’s ring on the chain around her neck, holding it out in front of her.  “That’s from when I saw this for the first time.  I had it made for you and Allie came with me to pick it up when it was done.”

Alex looks back down at the picture then up at Tobin whose eyes are focused on the ring in her fingers.  “Can I see it again?”

Tobin smiles and nods, reaching up and pulling the chain up over her head.  The two rings settle into Alex’s hand and Tobin watches Alex pick up the ring that had, for two weeks, rarely left her finger.  Alex then places that ring back down and picks up Tobin’s, studying it much more closely.  She looks up to Tobin.  “When did I get this?”

Tobin shrugs, “You didn’t tell me.  I think you started working with a jeweler like right away or something because you gave it to me like a day or two before the New Orleans game.”

“And you liked it?” Alex asks looking back down and turning it in her fingers.

“I still do,” Tobin replies softly.  Alex looks back up and smiles.

Alex reaches her hand up to Tobin’s cheek, “You’re cute.”  Tobin begins to lean down.

“And I’m still here,” Allie reminds them.

“Yeah me, too,” Emily says from across the aisle, looking up from her book.  

Alex reaches up with her other hand and slips the necklace back over Tobin’s head.  Tobin goes to tuck it into her shirt but Alex reaches her hand out to stop her.  She turns back to Allie, “What else ya got?”

The next picture is of a plate of food, causing Tobin to whimper.  “So hungry.”

“Left pocket of my bag,” Alex responds, still looking down at Allie’s phone.  

Tobin reaches up to Alex bag, pulling out a granola bar.  She leans down, pressing a kiss to Alex’s cheek.  “You’re the best.”

~~~

Alex drags Tobin behind her, leading her to the bedroom. She faces Tobin and drops her hand, stepping backwards towards the bed as she pulls her shirt up over her head.  Tobin bites her lip as she follows after, pulling her shirt off along the way.  

Minutes later Tobin is fully stripped and Alex is left in only her underwear.  Tobin lays on top of Alex, kissing her chest.  Alex bends her knee, bringing it up between Tobin’s legs. Tobin’s surprised moan vibrates against Alex’s skin.

Tobin rocks her hips against Alex’s leg and continues to nibble Alex’s skin.  Alex bravely reaches for Tobin’s hand that rests on her side and pushes it down to the only piece of fabric between them.  Tobin starts rubbing Alex’s side, not getting the message.  She grabs Tobin’s hand again holding it against her hip, pulling on the underwear slightly.  Tobin looks up, “Off?”

Alex nods and Tobin quickly moves to her knees.  She hooks a finger on each side and slowly starts to pull down, watching Alex’s face for any sign of hesitation.  Alex lifts her hips and Tobin takes that as the confirmation to continue.  She glances over Alex’s body as she drops the underwear to the floor and starts climbing back up.

Tobin hovers over her, “You’re so beautiful, Lex.”  Alex smiles, pulling her down and leaning up to meet her lips.  She runs her tongue lightly across Tobin’s lower lip.  Tobin pulls back, staring down into her eyes,  “Can I touch you?”

Alex nods, her breath picking up as Tobin’s hand lightly trails down her skin. She reaches her hip and starts working towards Alex’s center.  Alex can only focus on Tobin’s fingers and her hips roll up uncontrollably.

Tobin‘s fingers reach Alex’s clit and they push against it softly.  Her hips jerk up again and Tobin uses the heel of her hand to push them back down then leaning her head down Alex’s collar bone.  Alex’s hands rub Tobin’s back and she pushes her hips up to get more pressure against her clit.  Alex moans and Tobin starts working her fingers faster.  Alex pushes her head back into the pillow.  

Tobin’s fingers slow and start to work lower.  Alex is about to complain when the pressure disappears from her clit but Tobin bites down on her skin and a soft moan escapes her lips instead.  She looks to Tobin’s descending hand, feeling them reach her entrance.  Tobin slowly slides one finger inside curling it up before pulling it back out.

Alex’s jaw falls open and a breathy moan fills the room.  Tobin smiles against her skin and pushes in again, repeating the action.  Tobin adds a second finger after a few strokes bringing her thumb against Alex’s clit.

Alex whimpers loudly, her hips rocking in rhythm with Tobin’s hand.  Her fingers move up, tangling through Tobin’s light hair.  “Tobin,” Alex moans.  Tobin looks up, her fingers still working to pleasure Alex.  Alex doesn’t even notice Tobin staring at her.  

Tobin leans up and nibbles along her jaw.   “I love you so much.”  

Alex smiles and looks down, her eyes glazed over in ecstasy, “Love you, too.”

Tobin can tell Alex is close and slows her fingers down.  She moves to her ear, “Al.  Can I taste you?”  Alex lets out a louder moan.  Tobin moves up onto her elbow asking, “Is that a yes?”  Alex looks up into Tobin’s eyes, seeing the love in them staring back down at her.  She nods, puckering her lips.

Tobin leans in, pressing her lips against Alex’s.  Alex holds her there for a minute until the fingers inside of her and the thumb pressing against her clit distract her.  Tobin starts pressing kisses down Alex’s neck to her chest.  She takes a few seconds sucking on each nipple before continuing lower.  Tobin kisses down Alex’s stomach diagonally to her hip.

Alex’s shallow breathing becomes more rapid as Tobin slowly kisses down her thigh.  She uses her free hand to spread Alex’s legs and start kissing Alex’s inner thigh.  Alex tries to scoot down but Tobin pushes up harder inside of her.  Tobin works her way up a little faster, pausing over Alex’s center.  She lightly blows towards her fingers and Alex lifts her hips.  Tobin pushes against her clit with her thumb one more time before bowing her head.  

She sticks her tongue out and presses it against Alex’s clit.  Alex moans, her fingers brushing through Tobin’s hair and grabbing a handful as her hips start grinding against her tongue.  Alex’s moans fill the room, as she pulls Tobin closer.  

Alex’s hips slow and Tobin sucks Alex’s clit into her mouth. Tobin looks up when she hears muffled moans coming from above her.  She sees Alex’s lower lips clenched between her teeth.  She pulls away causing Alex to tighten her grip in Tobin’s hair and push her back down.  Tobin pushes back against Alex’s hand.  “I want to hear you.  Don’t bite your lip.”

Alex nods her head emphatically and continues to pull Tobin back into her.  Tobin smiles and lets herself be pulled back in  Her fingers pump in and out and she sucks on her clit hard.  Alex’s moans grow. Tobin curls and uncurls her fingers, pushing against the spot that she knows drives Alex over the edge.  She pushes her tongue firm against Alex’s clit while sucking it into her mouth. A few more seconds and Alex’s hips push up hard into Tobin. Tobin continues softly sucking on her until the nails in her back retract and the moans turn to heavy breathing.

Tobin slowly retracts her fingers and presses a kiss to Alex’s inner thigh.  She slowly climbs back up to Alex’s lip.  She traces her lips with her tongue, savoring the taste on her lips.  She moves to Alex’s side and lays down, one hand resting on Alex’s stomach and her head propped up on her other hand.

Alex pats Tobin’s shoulder as she tries to regain her breathing.  Once she does, she looks over at Tobin, hoping that the heat rising to her cheeks can be passed off as a result of their previous actions.  “Hi.”

“Hi,” Tobin smiles.

“That was...nice.”

Tobin looks at Alex, amused.  “Nice?”

Alex smirks and reaches her arms up around Tobin’s neck.  “Yeah it was good.”  She pulls her down tasting herself on Tobin’s lips the moments they meet. “Really good.” Alex pushes the fallen hair out of her face.  “Amazing even.”

~~~

Alex wakes up feeling Tobin’s bare body pressed into her back.  She looks down at the foot of the bed to see Norbert’s head resting on her leg.  She turns her head to look behind her, “Tobs.”

“Mm,” she mumbles into the pillow.

“Want to take Norbert for a walk before practice?” Alex asks.

“Are you coming with me this time or is this another trick?” Tobin questions lifting her head slightly.

“Together.”

~~~

Tobin rocks her long board back and forth, leash in hand as Alex locks the front door.  Tobin pushes off once Alex gets to her and slowly follows after Norbert as he takes off down the sidewalk.

Alex walks next to Tobin, holding her hand and slightly pulling her down the sidewalk.

“Tobs?”  Tobin looks over at her. “Was I better at sex the first time around?”

Tobin looks over sympathetically.  “Lex, you’re not bad now.  You make me feel good.  That’s what sex is.  Sure it’s different and you knew more specifics of what I liked but you still get me off now.”  Tobin smirks, squeezing Alex’s hand, “And I will never say no if you want to explore my body.”

Alex shakes her head but stops walking, bringing Tobin and Norbert to a stop as well.  She moves up on her toes, pressing a light kiss to Tobin’s lips.  “I love you.”

Tobin steps off of her board and wraps her free arm around Alex.  “I love you too.”   They hold each other for a minute before Norbert barks and pulls on the leash. They turn to him and smile.  “Let’s go ya little dragon.”  Tobin kicks her board up and tucks it under the arm connected to the leash.  She wraps her other arm around Alex’s waist, holding her close.

~~~

Alex stands in front of Tobin, who just finished relacing her cleats, holding her hand out, “Ready?”

“You going to score for me?” Tobin asks as Alex pulls her to her feet.

Alex tilts her head to the side.  “Every goal I score is for my love...”  she says with a serious face  “Norbert.  Why would I score for you?”  Tobin pouts her lips and tries to zip up her warm up jacket.  Alex slaps her hands away and grabs the bottom edges of the jacket.  She connects the two halfs and zips it up slowly.  She leans in to press a soft kiss to Tobin’s cheek, hovering, “It’s weird to be putting clothes on you.”

Tobin shakes her head and turns around.  “Hey, Tobs,” Alex calls when she is almost out the door.  Tobin turns back around.  “It’s always for you.”

Tobin’s face softens, she nods and continues walking out to the field, passing the starting Boston players.

~~~

Tobin stands on the sideline halfway through the second half, clapping her hands as Nadia jogs towards her. She slaps hands with her then steps onto the field, heading towards the corner to kick the ball in.  

She readies herself and raises her arm, checking the positions of everyone in front of her before dropping her arm and running in. The skims over Allie’s head as she is jostled and right into the arm of a Boston player.  The whistle blows and the official points to the spot.  Alex walks up to the spot as the other players ready themselves around the box.  She runs in and slots it into the left corner easily.  

She throws her arms up as her teammates surround her.  She feels a lot of hands, arms and bodies congratulating her.  She then heads back to her spot for the restart of the game.

Twenty minutes later Tobin runs up the side with the ball at her feet. Three Boston players start to move towards her as she looks around.

“TOBIN,” Alex calls, running parallel to her in the middle of the field.  Tobin hits the ball with the outside of her foot, pushing it through the legs of the first defender. She runs around her and gets to the ball right before the next defender slides in to block it.  She quickly knocks it up the field, checking Alex’s position as she runs after it.  She races the last defender and cross it right as Whitney kicks out her leg.  

Alex sees Tobin kick the ball and races around Emily to meet it in the box.  She tracts it with her eyes and glances towards goal quickly.  Before the ball can hit the ground Alex connects her foot with it sending it easily past the keeper who barely has time to react as it sails into the net.  Alex quickly turns and starts sprinting, pointing at Tobin.  Tobin holds her arms out, a huge grin on her face and Alex jumps up, wrapping her legs around her.  Tobin easily catches her and holds her up.  The rest of their teammates surround them, patting them on the head or back and hugging them.  

Once they start to back away, Tobin sets Alex back down but  Alex keeps her arm around Tobin’s neck.  “That was a great cross.”

Tobin shrugs, “That was a great goal.”

The game ends a few minutes later, 6-1.  

~~~

Alex smiles as she places the rose crown on her head. She walks back to her line of teammates, three roses in her hand.  She separates one and holds it out to Tobin as she gets closer.  “For you my love,” Alex says loudly to be heard over the cheering.

Tobin shakes her head.  “I didn’t score.  Those were your goals.”

“You’re my goal,” Alex replies.  Tobin takes it, sliding it through the bun she has on top of her head.  Alex laughs and loops her arm through Tobin’s.  “Perfect.  Marking my territory for me.  Thanks, babe.”

“Pretty sure that’s obvious.  I’m the one that needs to be more worried with all the marriage proposals you get.”  Tobin looks up to the fans, waving, as Alex smiles at her.  

~~~

“Alex,” Tobin calls from the front door.  “They’re here.”

“I’ll be out in a minute. Can you start loading the bags?” she calls back.

Tobin grumbles as she picks up their two bigger bags and slowly walks to the open trunk of Bati’s car.  She loads them into the car quickly.  “Sorry, guys,” she says, “Alex is primping.”  

“It’s your fault I had to primp again in the first place.”

“Oh. My. God,” Allie groans.  “We get it.  You guys fucked.  Gross. Now put your bags in the car and let’s go.  We still need to pick up Lindsey.”

Tobin shakes her head, Bati laughs, and Alex blushes.  Tobin reaches around Alex and loads their remaining bags into the car.  

~~~

Alex reaches for Tobin’s hand as they walk through the airport towards baggage claim.  Tobin turns her head and smiles.  “You do know there are fans in this airport right?”

“We’re dating.  They already know that.  What do I have to hide?”  She steps in front of Tobin, moving her hands  to the tanned face as she leans in for a long kiss.  “I love you, Tobs.  I think the whole world should know.”  Alex leans back into Tobin, kissing her quickly.

“Hey, lovebirds,” Lindsey calls from thirty feet away.  They turn towards the two blondes and start walking over.  “Stop mackin’.  We got places to be.”

“Who still says macking?” Allie asks as they get to the escalator.

“Shut up.”

“Children settle down,” Alex says, used to their bickering, heading to the carousel where their bags have just started circulating.

~~~

Tobin puts her arm around Alex’s neck as they stand in a line watching Heather’s highlight reel.  She leans over, “That second goal was amazing.  My nutmeg lessons paid off”

“Amazing enough to get you into bed?” Alex smirks.

Tobin chuckles, “How bout we wait til after the second game?  Less likely that the inevitable hickies will be posted all over twitter.”  

“But _your_ goal was definitely amazing enough for me to want to get you into bed,” Alex says, rubbing Tobin’s side.  

“What about me?” Christen asks from Tobin’s other side.  “Was _my_ goal good enough to get you into bed, Al?”

Tobin snickers while Alex’s cheeks redden.  Alex turns and stares up at the screen.  Tobin looks over, smiling at her before turning and leaning over towards Christen, eyes on the screen.  “You get in bed with her and I’ll sic Allie on you.”

Christen laughs, “That’s only if you find out.”  She reaches her arm around Tobin, placing her hand flat onto Alex’s back and rubbing up and down.

Alex looks over confused as Tobin turns back towards Christen.  “You do realize I can feel you right?”

Christen wiggles her eyebrows. “That’s kinda the point.”

~~~

Alex follows Tobin into her room the night before the Netherlands game, collapsing onto the bed as Tobin moves to the dresser.  “That was such a cute baby,” Alex whines, referring to a baby they saw at practice.

“Really?” Tobin asks, looking over.  “You thought that baby was cute?  I had no idea.  You didn’t try to steal him or anything.”

“I’m going through withdrawal. Be nice,” Alex pouts, rolling onto her stomach.  

Tobin walks over pajamas in hand, setting them down next to her.  She leans down, kissing her cheek.  “It’s been like a week, Lex.  We were gone a lot longer for the Olympics.”

“But I still miss him and Kat hasn’t sent me pictures of him since this morning.”  Tobin fishes her phone out of her pocket and tosses it to Alex.  “She sent you pictures and didn’t send me any?”  Alex unlocks Tobin’s phone and starts looking for the photos.  Tobin shrugs and pulls her shirt off, picking up her sleep shirt and shaking it out.  “It’s just not fair,” Alex complains, looking up.  “Hello.”

Tobin shakes her head as she pulls her shirt down over her body.  “Game tomorrow, Lex.”

“I wasn’t doing anything, just admiring.”

Tobin pushes her shorts down and reaches out for the boxers sitting next to Alex, pulling them on.  Alex reaches down and picks up the shirt Tobin dropped, “Can I have this?”

Tobin looks at her confused, “You know you have your own right?”

Alex shakes her head, bringing it up to her face.  She takes a big breath before responding.  “This smells like you though.  It’s not only Norbert that I’m going through withdrawal from.”  

Tobin smiles, sitting next to her, “It get’s easier.”

“So you don’t miss me?” Alex pouts, resting her head on Tobin’s lap.

“I do.  I just spent a few months without you so I’m used to it.” Alex’s face falls, but Tobin quickly recovers.  “So now every night I spend with you is a treasure.”

Alex shakes her head and looks up at Tobin, “You’re ridiculous.”

Tobin leans down as much as she can and Alex sits up to meet her.  Tobin places her hand under Alex’s head for support, giving her light kisses.

“Well, well, well,” Megan laughs as she walks in, “what do we have here?”  Tobin rolls her eyes at Alex, who silently laughs.  “Tobs, I thought I told you to put a sock on the door if you brought someone back with you.”

“Shut up, Pinoe.”

“I should head to my room,” Alex sits up.  

Tobin stands and holds her hand out. “I’ll walk you there.”

“Scared she’s going to get eaten by Dawn?” Megan jokes.

Tobin shakes her head as she pulls quickly changes into sweatpants.  “More scared that she’ll try to steal a baby.”

“She’s been cooing over pictures of Cash all week, Tobs.  Your girl’s got baby fever,” the blonde jokes from the door, elbowing Alex.

Alex crosses her arms.  “Babies are cute and cuddly and I miss my baby.”

“ _Your_ _baby_ ,” Tobin says as she stands in front of them, “is pushing 60 pounds.”

“He’s still _our_ cute and cuddly baby,” Alex argues.

Tobin pushes Alex out the door, “I’ll be back in a few Pin.”  Tobin laces her finger through Alex’s and they silently walk  to Alex’s door, stopping in front of it.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Alex nods, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”  Tobin pushes up on her toes slightly to press her lips to Alex’s.  “Night.”

“Goodnight, Tobin.”  Alex slides her key into the door and pushes it open.  Tobin doesn’t move until she hears Alex’s lock click shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to have the next chapter up within a week but who knows. I know what I want to happen in terms of their relationship but there was a lot of soccer stuff going on between September camp and October (a lot of which I don't remember/don't want to relive read:the Portland semifinal) so if there is anything specific you want me to write let me know and I'll see if it works. Also I'm going to need to know the November camp roster before I can do too much more. I might be able to get the next chapter but I will 100% need it before writing October camp.
> 
> Anyways....the end is near. I sorta blocked out what is going to happen and have it going to Chapter 31 but I would be willing to extend it on prompts(maybe making it a series) along with another story that I started when I started this one.


	29. Another Heartbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not over yet but I wanted to thank you all for reading so... thank you so much. I've used writing this as an escape and I'm glad people are enjoying it too.

Tobin stands in the kitchen looking for something to eat when she hears music coming from the living room.  She closes the cabinet and steps over Norbert who is sleeping in the middle of the doorway and heads for the couch.  “Whatcha watching,” she asks when she sees Alex sitting cross legged on the couch with her computer on her lap.

Tobin hears laughter and voices coming from the computer as Alex looks up with a smirk.  “You.”

Tobin looks at her confused and moves to the couch, plopping down.  She groans before her eyes even get to the screen when she hears Lauren introduce herself.  She looks to the computer and sees her 19 year old self.  “Why are you watching this?” she groans, trying to reach over to pause it.

Alex picks up the computer and holds it out of reach.  “You’re adorable and you haven’t changed much,” Alex laughs as younger Tobin talks about turning on Sports Center in the morning.  Tobin glares but turns her head back to the screen and Alex places it back on her lap.

The screen switches back to Tobin as she talks about her favorite class.  “Uhhm, philosophy.”

Off screen Heif asks, “Really?”

Tobin quickly shakes her head as a smirk spreads her lips, “No.”

Alex laughs and looks to Tobin.  “See.  Adorable.”  Tobin shakes her head, disagreeing.  Alex leans over and rests her head on Tobin’s shoulder. She clicks on the next video once the first one ends.

Tobin groans, pulls the laptop away and then closes it.  She leans over and blindly sets it down on the coffee table as her lips push against Alex’s.  Alex leans back on the couch.  Tobin crawls on top of her and slips her tongue into Alex’s mouth, her hand sliding under Alex’s shirt.  

Alex pushes up into Tobin with her hand rubbing Tobin’s back under her shirt. She starts to pull at Tobin’s shirt impatiently.  Tobin sits up slightly so Alex can pull the shirt over her head and toss it to the floor behind her.  Tobin reaches up and pins Alex’s arm above her head.  

Alex bites her lip and tilts her head to see where Tobin’s fingers are interlocked with hers.  Tobin uses that as an opportunity to gain access to Alex jaw.  Alex pushes her hips up into Tobin, moaning softly.  She feels a wet tongue on her bare side.  Her lips still against Alex’s skin and she lets out a long breath.  

Alex looks up at her confused while Tobin looks down to see Norbert, tail wagging, near their hips. “Come on bud.  Your moms are trying to get busy.” Alex laughs as she looks around Tobin as he walks closer and licks Tobin’s face.  Tobin sits up and rolls her eyes.  “And the moods gone.”  

Alex hooks her finger into the front of Tobin’s sweatpants.  “Says who?”

Tobin tilts her head, looking down at Alex disapprovingly.  “Not in front of the kid.”

“Tobin,” Alex groans.  “He’s a dog.”

Tobin smirks and leans down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.  “We can pick back up again later.  Let’s take him for a walk.  Tire him out so we can have some alone time.”

Alex drops her hand back to the couch.  “Fine.”

Tobin stands over Alex, holding her hand out.  “I’ll make it up to you.”

Alex takes her hand.  “I have an idea how you could.”  Tobin pulls her up and Alex lips are an inch away from Tobin’s.

“Oh really?” Tobin asks.  “And what exactly would that be?”

Alex smirks.  “You apparently do something magical with ice cubes.”

Tobin quietly laughs.  “Who did you hear that from?”

“You,” Alex replies, staring right into Tobin’s eyes.  “So are you going to show me?”

Tobin leans down to kiss her.  “I guess I could if you really want.”

Alex turns to Norbert.  “Let’s go ya little dragon.  Mama’s horny and you’re a buzz kill.”

Tobin laughs and shakes her head.  “I just can’t with you sometimes.”

“I know,” Alex groans.  “That’s the problem.”

Tobin bends down, taking his furry face in her hands.  “Norbs, your Ma’s going a little crazy.”

Alex walks over to get his leash, “Crazy for you.”

Tobin laughs and stands up.  “I’ve been waiting for this.  Hold on.”  Tobin runs into the kitchen and Alex looks to the doorway in confusion.  She can hear a cabinet opening and closing and then Tobin is back, her hands behind her back.  “Soo, in light of this momentous occasion…” she starts walking towards Alex, “I got you,” she moves her hands in front of her, “cheese balls.”  She holds a large plastic jug of orange cheese balls.

Alex rolls her eyes, “Really Tobs.  Who’s going to eat those?”

“We can eat them after our games.  It’s not like they ever go bad.  These things could survive the apocalypse.”

Alex shakes her head and clips the leash to Norbert’s collar.  “Come on Norbs.”

~~~

Norbert heads straight to his bed in the corner of the living room.  Alex hangs up his leash while Tobin heads into the kitchen.  Alex follows after her, hands grabbing her hips while she opens the fridge.  Tobin pulls out a Gatorade, taking a sip before placing it back in.

Alex slips her finger under Tobin’s shirt, softly rubbing the skin right above the line of her sweatpants.  Tobin closes the fridge and turns to face Alex.  “Finally,” the forward groans.  She captures Tobin’s lips and pushes her back against the fridge.  Tobin smiles against the lips and wraps her arms around Alex’s neck, holding her close.

Alex reaches down to the back of Tobin’s thighs and lifts up.  Tobin instinctively wraps her legs around Alex’s waist and Alex slides her hands to Tobin’s butt.  Alex takes two steps back, still kissing Tobin and turns to exit.  She opens her eyes and her lips still as she tries to navigate them through the door.  Tobin pulls back slightly to look at Alex but smiles as Alex exits the kitchen.  

She bows her head to Alex’s ear, whispering, “Take me to bed,” before nibbling on the forward’s ear lobe.  Alex sighs softly as she heads down the hallway, Tobin is soon pushed into the wood of their bedroom door.  Alex rolls her hips into Tobin’s while her hand squeezes the midfielder’s chest through her shirt.

Tobin bites her lip as Alex continues to roll her hips, stifling the moan.  Alex moves her lips to Tobin’s neck and starts sucking on the soft skin.  Tobin’s fingers tangle through Alex’s hair.  Alex pulls away from the wall and carries Tobin to the bed, dropping her down on top of the comforter. She quickly pulls off her shirt and pushes her shorts and underwear down before grabbing Tobin’s sweatpants and underwear and tugging them off.  

Alex climbs on top of her and sits back on her bare hips.  She runs her hands up under Tobin’s shirt, lifting it to expose the soft skin underneath.  Alex then pulls on it, bringing Tobin up into her.  Alex tugs the shirt up and off, tossing it aside.  She looks down at the rings that swing freely.  Alex hooks her finger through the chain and takes it off of Tobin’s neck carefully.  

Alex slowly lets the chain drop into her palm.  Intently staring down at them.  Tobin watches her, not saying anything.  Alex looks up at Tobin, “These really are beautiful rings.”

Tobin nods.  “Yeah,” she replies softly.  

Alex leans over and sets the rings down on the bedside table.  She then leans into Tobin, pulling away after a moment. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“Knock your head against a goal post?  Wouldn’t really call that luck.”

“I mean I wish I remembered more of our relationship but I’m with you now.”  Alex leans down and kisses Tobin quickly.  “That’s all that matters.  I love you, Tobin.” She kisses her again.  “Now let me show you.”

Tobin smiles as Alex starts kissing down her body, quickly reaching under her and snapping her bra loose.  Her other hand rubs up Tobin’s leg and slowly starts running her finger up and down her slit.  Alex bites down on the left cup of her bra and pulls it down.  She starts sucking on her nipple, feeling it harden in her mouth.  Once it’s fully hard, Alex moves to the other side, biting and sucking.  

The fingers against Tobin’s clit soon move away as Alex kisses down past her hips.  Alex pauses to look at Tobin, fully exposed. “Don’t overthink it, Al,” Tobin says, looking down at Alex, sensing the worry.  “You don’t need to do it if you don’t want.”

Alex shakes her head, blushing, “No, can you just tell me what to do, what you like?”

“How?” Tobin asks, moving up to her elbows.

Alex looks down, not able to meet Tobin’s eyes.  “Just talk me through it.”

“Okay,” Tobin responds, “you can stop whenever.”

“Tobin.”  Alex looks up, staring right into her eyes.  “I’m getting you off.  Just fucking tell me where you want my tongue.”

Tobin’s taken back but her body responds to Alex’s words, hips raising slightly.  “On my clit,” she replies, her voice breaking.  Alex responds immediately, pushing her tongue onto Tobin’s clit.  She rubs her tongue up and down, not fully sure what to do.  

Tobin sighs and runs and hand through her hair, grabbing a fist full. She starts to rock her hips against Alex’s tongue. “Ugh,” she groans as her hips move faster.  Alex allows Tobin to rock against her tongue for a minute before her hips gradually slow to a stop.

“Bite me,” Tobin moans.  Alex looks up to confirm Tobin’s demand, seeing her eyes squeezed tight.  “Alex, please,” Tobin’s begs.  Alex bites down.  “Softer,” Tobin squeaks.  Alex loosens her jaw.  “A little harder, Lex.”  Tobin rubs the back of Alex’s head, “It’s okay. You’re okay.  Don’t stop.”  Alex bites down a little harder, smiling to herself when a moan fills the room.  Alex holds her clit between her teeth while she rubs Tobin’s side.  Tobin grabs her hand and places it on her chest.  Alex gets the hint and starts to squeeze her boob.

“Suck on me,” Tobin gasps as her hips buck slightly.  Alex obliges, tucking her teeth behind her lips and sucking on her clit.

“Now your f-fingers,” Tobin asks for out of breath.   Alex quickly moves her free hand under her and slides two fingers into Tobin.  She slowly starts to pump in and out of Tobin while rubbing Tobin’s clit between her lips.

Tobin presses an open hand to the back of her head to hold her in place between her legs.  Alex’s fingers curl up inside of her.  Tobin stays silent in her demands for a few minutes save for the moans that Alex’s mouth and fingers elicit that drive her to continue.  Tobin’s hip start to move against Alex again.  “Tongue,” Tobin moans.

Alex pushes her tongue against Tobin as Tobin’s hips move faster.  “Fuck,” Tobin groans.  “Don’t stop.”  Alex glances up at Tobin’s face.  Her eyes are barely open, and long breathy moans passing out of her parted lips with each breath.

It only takes a few more minutes for Tobin to grab Alex’s hair in a death grip and her moans to be loud enough that Alex hopes Tobin won’t lose her voice too much.  Alex keeps going until Tobin begs her to stop.

Alex kisses her way up Tobin’s body as she tries to regain her breathing.  Tobin holds her tight in her arms.  “I love you.”

Alex smiles, licking her lips, “I love you too.”  

Alex rests her head against Tobin’s shoulders, her thumb rubbing small circles at the top of her sternum.  “So was that okay?” she asks hesitantly, looking at Tobin’s neck, not able to meet her eyes.

“Yeah.  Could you not tell?” Tobin asks still slightly out of breath.

Alex can’t help but smile.  “Yeah.  I was just checking.”

Tobin nods, kissing Alex’s forehead.  They lay silent for a few minutes before Tobin breaks it.  “So do you want me to show you my magic trick?”

Alex nods and Tobin slips out from under her, rolling off the bed.  She pads over to the door naked throwing it open and then heading towards the kitchen.  She returns a minute later with a bowl filled with ice cubes, setting it down on the bed near Alex’s hip while she crawls up, spreading Alex legs open.  

“Mmm.  Already wet for me.” Tobin hums. She looks up at Alex, who nods, slightly embarrassed.  She leans over, pressing a few open mouthed kisses to each of Alex’s nipples.  She blindly reaches down to grab an ice cube.  She runs it around each of Alex’s nipple, watching them get hard and lapping up the cold water that drips down.  Alex flinches at the cold but pushes her chest up into Tobin’s mouth.  Tobin places the ice cube between her teeth.  She moves up, running the ice cube up Alex’s neck.  She places her lips over Alex’s drops the ice cube into her mouth.  With cold lips, she starts kiss to her way back down Alex’s torso.  

Tobin lays in between Alex’s legs as the younger woman twitches in anticipation.  She reaches over to the bowl next to her, pushing her thumb against an ice cube for a few seconds.  She then quickly moves it to Alex, pressing down on her clit.  Alex’s hips jerk slightly at the sensation and Tobin can feel blue eyes on her but doesn’t look up.

Tobin does the same thing a few more times, blowing on Alex’s clit while she rubs her thumb on the ice cube. She picks up an ice cube moving it to her lips, rubbing it on like she is putting on lipstick before sucking it into her mouth.  Alex watches intently, chewing on her lip.  Tobin drops the ice cube into her hand and sets it on Alex’s stomach, causing a small screech and the muscles in her stomach to clench.

Tobin smirks up as she lowers her head.  Her cold lips surround Alex clit and Alex’s hand immediately finds the back of Tobin’s head.  Tobin smiles and sticks her tongue out pressing it hard against the warm skin.  A moan escapes Alex’s clenched lips at the cold feeling against her warm clit.  Tobin grips Alex’s hips, her legs over her shoulders.  She works Alex up more to the sound of her moans become more vocal.

“Tob,” Alex breathes. “I want you inside me.”

Tobin looks up smiling.  She kisses her way up to Alex’s belly button where the half melted ice cube rests.  She sucks the water and ice cube into her mouth before moving back down between her legs.  Tobin starts sucking on Alex’s clit but instead of her tongue pushes the ice cube against it.  Alex sits up slightly her hand gripping Tobin’s head tight against her, a moan from deep in her throat passing through her parted lips.  Tobin alternates pushing her tongue and the ice cube against Alex until the cube melts.  She pulls back with a pop as the suction on Alex’s skin breaks.  Tobin reaches over again, grabbing another ice cube.  She draws patterns at the top of Alex legs, the cold water dripping down to the sheets and causing her to shiver.  Tobin brings her other arm in and rubs her finger slowly up and down Alex’s wet slit.  Once her finger is soaked in Alex’s juices she pushes inside of her, working up a steady rhythm.

Tobin pushes a second finger into her and curls them up.  Alex lets out a deep sigh as Tobin reconnects her lips to Alex’s clit.  After a few minutes Tobin pulls her fingers out but quickly replaces them by pushing the ice cube into her followed by her fingers.  Tobin pushes the ice cube against the warm skin inside of her.  Alex rocks with Tobin’s fingers, a soft moan coming out with each thrust of her hips.  The muscles tightening inside of her, making it hard for Tobin to move her fingers.

Tobin sucks harder and reaches up with her free hand to squeeze Alex’s nipple.  It only takes a few more minutes for Alex’s moans to fill the room and her nails to scratch the top of Tobin’s back.

Tobin helps Alex ride out her orgasm before crawling up next to Alex and holding her tight.  They fall asleep in each other's arms, exhausted.

~~~

“You guys really don’t have to come,” Tobin tells Allie and Alex for probably the tenth time in the past hour.  She stands in front of the bathroom mirror applying eyeliner.

“Harry,” Allie whines, “we’re coming.  No matter how much you say no we’re going with you.”

Alex nods in agreement.  “I wouldn’t miss this for you just like you didn’t miss mine.  Also, I’m not going to blow your family off again.”  

“You’ve never blown them off.”

“I haven’t seen your parents since who knows when and you’ve seen mine numerous times.  I’m pretty sure our sisters still talk. Also you went to visit your parents with _my_ dad,” Alex states.  “Babe.  I’m coming.”

“Fine.  I guess you can come,” Tobin concedes, turning to her after she places the black pencil down.

Alex smiles and reaches to the counter where Tobin had put down her chain before getting in the shower.  She separates the two sides and places it over Tobin’s head. Tobin stares down at the two rings then back up to Alex.  The forward smiles back then turns around to Allie, “Told ya I would win.”

Allie chuckles.  “I didn’t have any doubt.  You two are both wrapped so tightly around each other’s fingers.”

Alex turns her head back towards Tobin and winks before squeezing past Allie into the hotel room.  “We should go soon,” Alex says, checking her phone.  

~~~

Tobin stands in front of the podium, looking out at everyone that came to see her.  She glances back quickly at the seated group of coaches, family, and friends that had helped her get to this point in her career.  She looks back to the crowd.  “Wow,” she starts. “I’m pretty overwhelmed.”

She stumbles through the rest of her half thought out speech getting distracted by a bee halfway through.  When she’s done, she smiles and waves, heading back to her seat next to her club coach.  She looks over to where her family is seated on the side of the other side.  She finds Alex leaning over to Allie and whispering something in her ear.  Tobin smiles and refocuses on the ceremony in front of her.  

Once all of the speeches are finished Tobin is lead towards the sign which is covered in a white sheet.  Alex pulls her phone out and snaps a few shots of Tobin as they wait for the sign to be revealed.  She smiles proudly as the sheet is pulled away and the long list of Tobin’s accomplishments is shown.

She stares at Tobin’s back while pictures are taken of her with the sign.  Cole runs to Tobin from where he was playing and she leans down, scooping him up.  Allie leans over when she catches the smile on Alex’s face. “Got a little baby fever there, Al.”

Alex smiles and nods.  “She’s so cute with him.  I’ve heard her talk to him on the phone and it’s adorable.”

Allie shakes her head and smiles.  “You got a few steps before kids are a thing.”  Alex nods and looks over as the rest of Tobin’s family is called over for a picture.  Tobin hands off her nephew to his father before putting her arm around her own.  

Alex looks down at her phone, looking through the pictures she has taken so far.  She looks back up when she hears her name called.  The Heath clan is all looking at her while Cindy waves her over.  She tucks her phone back into her pocket as she walks over hesitantly.  Tobin smiles at her as she walks by to the far side of the sign with Cindy and Perry. The two take a step apart and Cindy pulls Alex in between them.

The photographers tell them to smile and Alex does, putting her arms around Tobin’s mom and sister.  After a few shots are taken Cindy grabs Alex’s shoulders and shoves her in Tobin’s direction.  “I want a picture of you two.”  She pulls her phone from her pocket, “Jeff, get out of the picture.”  

Tobin’s dad laughs as he steps aside and Tobin’s arm easily snakes around Alex’s waist to pull her close.  They smile for a few pictures and then Tobin turns to look up at her.  “I’m glad you came.”

Alex looks down into Tobin’s eyes, “I’ll always be here for you.”  Alex kisses Tobin on the cheek then takes a small step back and looks at everyone around them here for Tobin.  A few of the midfielder’s coaches start to head over and Alex let’s Tobin greet them with hugs as she walks over to the rest of the Heath family.

Cindy turns her phone when Alex gets closer.  “This is a great photo.”  Alex looks at the screen and smiles.  They are both looking at each other, smiles stretching across their faces, she then notices Allie in the background making a funny face.

“Can you send that to me?” Alex asks hesitantly, still a little nervous around Tobin’s family.

“Of course,” she responds as Perry walks over and pulls Alex aside.

“So my sister tells me nothing,” she says, diving right into it.  “How are you two doing?”

Alex smiles, “Really good.  She’s been so amazing.  I’m really lucky that she stuck around for so long.  I was kinda bitchy to her.”

Perry nods, “Just a bit.”

Alex’s cheeks redden, “So she told you?”  

Perry nods again, “Called me crying a few times actually but to her credit she never said anything bad about you,” she pauses briefly. “I did though...but each time she would tell me you weren’t doing it on purpose.”

“I wasn’t,”  Alex quickly jumps in.  “It was a lot for me to handle and I was taking it out on her.  I have never wanted to hurt her.” Alex looks to Tobin who is talking with a few people she doesn’t recognize. “I love her so much.  I understand you being protective of her because I _did_ hurt her. I probably don’t even know half the pain I put her through and she will never tell me.”  She looks back to Perry who’s face is softer now.  “I will do everything in my power to make sure she never has to feel that pain or any pain ever again.”

Perry’s lips spread.  “I know.  When she told me you two were back together, I was skeptical.  Even more so than her, especially with you guys being outed, but your interview after the Olympics showed me you truly loved her again.  Welcome back.”  Perry moves in for a hug and Alex obliges, some of the weight lifting from his chest as she hugs back.

“Did I miss the ‘Hurt Tobin again and I hurt you’ talk?” Katie asks, coming up behind them, Cole on her hip.

“Sorry sis.  Couldn’t wait.  She passed though.  Barring anymore traumatic brain injuries I think Tobs is in good hands.”

Katie looks over Alex real quick, raising an eyebrow before her pierced lips turn into a smile and she pulls Alex in with her empty arm.  “Glad to have you back.  I missed you.”  Alex smiles and hugs her back.  They break apart and look to Tobin who is talking to a bunch of kids ranging from 5 to 15.  

“She’s going to make a great mom,” Katie says to no one in particular.

“Mmhm,” Alex hums, smiling as Tobin looks up at a much taller high schooler.

Perry leans around Alex to look at her older sister.  They share a smile then look back to Tobin.  

Allie walks over, “I love it when she’s awkward.”

Alex shakes her head and pulls out her phone.  She sees the message from Cindy and quickly downloads the picture.  She pulls up instagram to post the picture adding a caption.

_So proud of this one today and everyday.  Look at how full this sign is of all of her accomplishments and she’s not done yet. @tobinheath #TobinHeathField #theyregoingtoneedasecondsign #proudgf #nicephotobombAllie #photocredtomamaHeath_

~~~

Alex walks between Allie and Tobin, holding Tobin’s hand as they walk through the doors of their hotel.  Tobin glances over at Alex, “So you and my sisters were pretty chatty at dinner.”

Alex nods, “They were just catching me up on all the Heath family drama.”

“Any baby pictures?” Allie asks.

Alex shakes her head, “Unfortunately no.  I’ll text them and ask.”

“You text them?” Tobin asks, a slight hint of fear in her voice.

“I haven’t yet but I have their numbers in my phone still.  I also have your parent’s and Jeff’s.”  Tobin groans.  “Did Jeff...does Jeff like me?”

Tobin shrugs, “As much as a twenty two year old boy can like his older sister’s girlfriend.  You guys didn’t bond as much as you did with Katie and Perry but he likes you.  Pretty sure he had a crush on you for a while too.  Actually that was in a time period you should remember.”

Allie laughs, “I think you chose the wrong Heath, Al.”

Alex looks over at Tobin, her eyes looking over the face she has memorized.  “No.  Pretty sure I chose the right one.”  She leans over, kissing Tobin’s cheek as the elevator opens in front of them.

~~~

The final whistle blows and Alex throws her hands up in the air.  She feels two arms wrap around her and turns to see Hayley smiling up at her.  Alex wraps her arms around her and spins her in circles.  After a couple turns she sets her down and starts shaking hands with the Sky Blue players.  She reaches Kelley and wraps her in a hug.

“Congrats.”

“Thanks Kel.  Also really appreciated that elbow.”  Alex lifts the side of her shirt up to her sports bra.

Kelley pokes at her side with a smile, “I don’t see a bruise.” Alex slaps at her finger and then shakes hands with passing players.  “I’ll talk to you later, Kel.  Have fun.”

Kelley gives her shoulder a squeeze then starts to head over to the trainers for water.  Alex hugs a few teammates as they pass her, eyes locked on the side of her girlfriend’s face a few feet away, talking with Allie.  Alex grabs a water bottle as she passes by the trainers.  She easily sneaks behind Tobin and squeezes the water bottle, emptying it over her head.  Soon the rest of their teammates are around them, squirting water out around them.  Tobin pushes the wet hair off of her face and turns to Alex.

“Hey superstar.”

“It was your assist.”

“I know I’m great but you were the one that bent the ball at like a 90 degree angle to get that last goal.”

Alex puts her arm around Tobin’s neck, jumping up in down with their teammates.

~~~

One week after winning the shield in their semifinal game, Alex notices Tobin getting pushed and shoved even more than normal.  Each time getting up with a grimace on her face. Alex walks with her into the locker room at halftime.  “You good?”

Tobin nods, “We need two more goals.”

“We got this,” Alex says as sit down.

They come out of the locker room reenergized for the game.  The second half starts and it is a fight, same as the first half. Less than ten minutes in Tobin jumps up to head the ball.  It bounces towards the sideline and Tobin chases after it.  A Flash player runs with her, sliding and tripping Tobin right as the ball goes out. She feels the pain in her right knee right away and keeps her weight off of it.  She clutches her knee, bent over and rolls onto her butt.  The 4th official quickly calls over the trainer as Tobin holds her knee with both hands.  She grits her teeth and looks at her knee.  She puts her hand on her forehead bending her head down and shaking her head in pain and annoyance.  The game restarts behind her as the trainer pokes and prods at her knee, causing even more pain.

A few minutes later Tobin skips back onto the field, trying to keep the weight off of her right leg. She checks the field and sees Alex looking back at her.  She flashes her a pained thumbs up and turns back to the look at the ball as it kicked back into play by Western New York.  

Less than ten minutes left Lindsey passes the the ball to Tobin who shields it with her body.  She gets shoved from behind as the ball passes in front of her.  The whistle blows and Alex moves to the player that is standing over Tobin.  She shoves her out of the way and reaches a hand out to help Tobin up.  Alex then moves to the official where Christine is arguing with him for a yellow.  Amandine joins her and Christine walks off hands in the air.  Alex argues with the two Flash players and the official.  He shakes his head and she continues yelling at him as she walks to her spot for the free kick.

The whistle blows signaling the end of regulation.  The Thorns head to the sideline to regroup but forty minutes later, the final whistle blows and Alex’s shoulders slump.  She walks around the field in disbelief.  She shakes hands with Flash players as she passes them heading for the officials.  She doesn’t make it to them though.  Tobin barrels into her, breathing heavy, eyes red, and tears streaking down her face.  Tobin shakes as she grips Alex tightly.  Alex puts her arms around Tobin and squeezes her tight.  

“I know, baby.  I know,” Alex soothes.  “I’ve got you.”  Allie walks over and wraps them both in a hug.  She kisses the top of Tobin’s head before walking away.  Alex holds her for a few more minutes before letting go.  “Let’s go wave then we can head home.”

Tobin nods wiping at her face.  Alex takes her hand and walks to where the rest of the Thorns are starting to line up.  Alex takes Mana’s hand with her other hand and the line starts walking forward, raising their hands to the Riveters cheering for them.  Tobin pulls her hand from Alex’s grip.  Alex looks over confused and sees Tobin wiping her face.  Her heart breaks slightly and she puts her arm around Tobin’s back.  

After a few minutes, Mark huddles them together for a post game talk.  Alex keeps her arm around Tobin as tears continue streaming down her face.  Once Mark is done, Alex leans over, “Locker room?”

Tobin nods but pulls away.  She raises both hands, clapping them together.  Alex smiles at Tobin, waving to the fans as she waits for her to finish applauding the riveters.  It doesn’t take long for Tobin to find her way back to Alex.  They slowly walk to the locker room.  

They shower and change quickly.  Alex walks to Tobin’s locker where Tobin sits, bent over in front of her locker.  Alex bends her knees to kneel in front of Tobin.  She reaches up and rubs her cheek.  “Tobin, you ready to go home?”

Tobin nods and slowly moves to stand.  Alex reaches over and picks up Tobin’s bag.  She takes Tobin’s hand and leads them both out to the car.  Alex places their bags in the trunk then moves to the driver’s side, climbing in.  She takes Tobin’s hand in her own, holding tight.  “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Tobin responds, voice rough from the game and crying afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what ya think.


	30. Separated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the proudest of this chapter but I couldn't think of much to make it better

Tobin flops back onto the bed.  She had just finished repacking all of her stuff to leave for camp the following day.  She unlocks her phone and opens instagram.  The first picture that comes up is from Allie and almost makes her drop her phone on her face.

She clicks onto Allie’s instagram but doesn’t find anymore pictures.  She clicks on the original one she saw of her and Alex standing in front of large windows overlooking the Vegas strip.  Alex in a short, tight, black dress that Tobin has never seen before with tall heels.

She moves to Alex’s page and only finds a collage of pictures of her, Allie, and Kat making funny faces.  She can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing with how much she misses Alex.  She exits instagram and opens up her texts.

**Tobin: You know you’re torturing me right?**

She drops her phone next to her, knowing Alex is out and probably won’t respond.  She rolls over and heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for bed.  When she climbs into bed ten minutes later she finds a response from Alex.

**Lex: How?**

**Tobin: Is that a new dress? I feel like I should remember it**

She sees Alex start replying right away.

**Lex: Yeah.  I picked it up last week when you didn’t want to come to the mall with me.  You like it? ;)**

**Tobin: I wish you would have modeled it for me or something.**

**Lex: I was going to do that here but then you ended up not coming.  I miss you. I wish I could be dancing with you**

**Tobin: I miss you too but I’ll see you soon**

**Lex: Over a week is not soon**

**Tobin: Go have fun babe.  Tell Harry I love her and I miss her too**

**Lex: You never told me that you love me**

Tobin laughs as she types a response.

**Tobin: I love you so much Al.  Everyday until forever**

**Lex: That’s a long time**

**Tobin: Night Lex.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow when I get to Utah and then  I’ll be home before you know it**

**Lex: Night my love**

~~~

Alex looks down at the counter to her buzzing phone and a smiles comes over her face.  She answers the call immediately as she lowers the flames on the eggs she’s cooking.

“Hey, baby,” Alex says as she tucks the phone between her shoulder and ear.

“Hey,” Tobin replies happily

“So you having a fun morning?” Alex asks when she hears laughing in the background.

“You could call it that if you want.  I’d say I’m having a Ashlyn morning.  She got this new camera and is just taking pictures of _everything_.”  Before Alex can respond she hears Tobin complaining and then Ashlyn’s voice.

“Hey Al.  Miss you.”

“I miss you too, Ash. So what’s this I hear about a new camera?”

“It’s so cool.  I don’t really know how to use it but it takes such good pictures.”

“Want to take a bunch of Tobin and send them to me?  I give you permission to annoy her all week.”

“I’ll get all her worst angles.”

“She has none,” Alex simply states as she picks up the pan and slides the omelette onto her plate.

“Oh right. Totally forgot,” Ashlyn says with fake sincerity.  “Your love makes you blind.”

“You’re ridiculous.  How was surfing?”  She carries her plate over to the table.

“Ah-mazing. We should do a vacation or something there because I want to go back.”  Ashlyn laughs, “Kelley’s giving me a thumbs up.”

“You’re all going to ditch me and go surfing.  Actually that wouldn’t be bad.  I’d get a nice tan.”

“Wait.  No,” Ashlyn quickly backtracks.  “You and Tobin in bikinis then in… not bikinis.  Nope don’t need to relive that again.  I’m good.  Let’s go snowboarding or something that requires lots of clothing.”

Alex nods along, “Yeah.  I can help her warm up. You know, Ash.  Skin to skin is normally the best for that.  So I could-”  Alex hears some more rustling on the phone and stops.

Tobin’s voice then comes through the speaker, “Hello?”

Alex laughs. “Talk about sex and she leaves.  Good to know.”

“Umm. I’m just going to ignore that.  What are you up to?”

“Just about to eat breakfast actually,” Alex replies, using the side of her fork to cut the egg.

“Sleeping in?  It’s almost lunch time.”

“More of a brunch I guess but no.  I’ve been up for a while.  I went for my run and then took Norbs for a nice walk.  We both miss you.  He stares at your longboard when I grab his leash.  I think he wants me to ride it but that wouldn’t end well on many accounts.”

“Yeah,” Tobin agrees.  “Can we maybe bring him with us to the next camp?”

“Tobin,” Alex says seriously.  “I know we act like he’s our kid but the team isn’t going to hire us a nanny for a dog.”

“I know,” Tobin groans.  “We can leave him with your parents.”

“I’ll ask my mom,” Alex concedes.

“She already said it was cool,” Tobin replies cheerfully.

“Of course she did.  Can I talk to you later?  My eggs are getting cold.”

“Yeah.  I’ll call you tonight after dinner.  I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

~~~

Alex sits down ready to watch the first game, exhausted from her two workouts that day.  Norbert hops up next to her and starts to lick the side of her face as the whistle blows to start the game.  Alex cheers for her teammates through a scoreless first half.

The second half starts and Alex is just sitting back down when Lynn Williams scores her first goal.  A slight pang runs through her chest when she sees Tobin run up and and hug Lynn, wishing it was her.

Fifteen minutes later, Tobin slots the ball under the diving keeper on a pass from Crystal.  Alex jumps up pumping her fist, causing Norbert to jump from his spot next to her on the couch, tail wagging.

“Did you see that, Norbs?” Alex coos to him, pointing at the screen as the replay is shown.  “Look at Mommy’s goal.”  She rubs his face and kisses his nose, his tail slapping at the couch cushions as he wags it violently.  Alex sits back down with her arm around him.

She watches the rest of the game, getting excited each time they score again.  

She retweets the post from US Soccer about Tobin’s goal then starts to type out a new tweet.

_Great first caps @CaseyShort3 @sunshine_sully @AbbyDahlkemper @ash_hatch33 and what an amazing goal @lynnraenie_

~~~

After a long hike with Norbert, Alex walks to the bedroom and crawls into bed, Norbert jumping up next to her.  She pulls out her phone to see two text messages from Tobin.

**Tobin: Check Lindsey’s twitter**

**Tobin: Also I miss you**

Alex switches to Twitter and quickly pulls up Lindsey’s page.  The first post is a video so she clicks play.  Alex can tell it’s a hotel bedroom the camera pointed towards the door and Lindsey hiding behind a wall.  After a few seconds Allie walks in.

“Harry?”

Alex can hear Tobin’s voice and instantly smiles.  “Yeah.”

“Are you taking a pictur-”

Lindsey jumps out towards Allie, screaming. Allie shrieks in response as Lindsey starts laughing.  Allie walks between the bed Lindsey just climbed into and the one Tobin was sitting on.  She sets her phone down then punches towards Tobin.  The video ends mid punch.

Alex watches it a few more times. Before retweeting it and adding her own comment.

_@ALLIE_LONG hands off my love If anything you should be beating up @Lindseyhoran11 for scaring you #Iknowwhereyoulive #savedthecoffee_

~~~

Alex sits on the couch petting Norbert with one hand as she goes through various emails with the other.  Once she’s done and Norbert is snoring next to her, she turns on the television to find something mindless to watch.  She settles on a random soccer game, turning the volume low, and turns her attention back her computer.

She opens up instagram and starts scrolling through the photos posted within the last few hours.  She pauses, her finger hovering over the down arrow when she sees a picture of Tobin posted by US Soccer.  She smiles at Tobin goofing around with the ball.

She looks over at Norbert and then to the new addition on their coffee table.  A picture of the two of them from the World Cup, wrapped in a flag, lips pressed hard against each other’s and tears wetting both of their faces.

She reaches over and picks up her cell phone, quickly finding her mother’s number and pressing call.  After the third ring Alex hears the familiar voice.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mom,” Alex responds, almost nervously.

“What’s up?” Pam asks.

“Uh...are you busy?” Alex answers, buying herself time.

“Yeah.  What’s wrong?  Are you lonely?  Tobin will be back in a few days, right?”

“Yeah.  Well that’s kinda why I called.  I do miss her, but I know she’s coming back to me.  I always want her to come back.”  Neither of them say anything for a few moments.  “Mom, when did you know you wanted to marry Dad?”

Alex can hear her mom’s smile through the phone.  “We had talked about it a bit before he proposed.  Like where we wanted to end up, kids, stuff about the future.  I loved him and he loved me.  I sort of knew he was special the whole time but each day just made it more obvious.”

Alex nods even though her mom can’t see her through the phone.  “Is there something you want to tell me, Alex?  It _has_ only been three months since you two started dating again.”

“I know, but I know she loves me.  She was ready to spend her life with me.  I know she’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.  I may not know her the same as before but why wait.”

“Okay, sweetheart.  Well then I’m so happy for you two?  I never threw out the wedding magazines and I had already found some things I think you would like.  Do you know how you’re going to ask her?”

Alex laughs quietly, “I just thought about it, Mom.  I need to work everything else out.”

“Okay.  Call me when you do.  I’m so happy for you, Al.  You make each other so happy and I really do think you two belong together.”

Alex smiles, “Thanks, Mom.  I love you.”

“I love you, too.  Let me know if you need anything.  Talk to you soon.”

“Okay.  Bye.”

Alex goes to her messages and quickly finds the group text Kelley had set up but hadn’t been used since just after Rio.

**Alex: Can we skype tonight?**

She gets a reply almost immediately.

**Allie: What happened?**

Alex tries to think of a way to respond but doesn’t quite know how to put her feelings into words.  While she is thinking she gets another text from Allie.

**Allie: Did you guys get in a fight?  We just got out of practice.  How could you already be fighting?**

Alex starts to type out a short response but Christen and Kelley beat her to it.

**Christen: Tobin seems fine.  She’s showing me pictures you sent her of Norbert from your hike**

**Kelley: What’s wrong?**

Alex groans and looks down at Norbert.

**Alex: Nothing happened.  Nothings wrong**

**Kelley: This group text is meant specifically to discuss top secret plans involving your relationship with Tobin.  You two are together now so what is there to discuss?**

**Kelley: Wait you’re still together right???**

**Allie: Tobin would be sobbing if they weren’t together**

**Christen: Alex why do you want to skype?**

**Alex: I would be easier to explain not in text**

**Alex: But I am still with Tobin and don’t want that to change.  So calm the fuck down**

**Kelley: I’m calm**

**Allie: We have three hours until dinner**

**Christen: Kelley smells pretty bad so she needs to shower**

**Kelley: Speak for yourself.  I smell like roses**

**Alex: We all know that’s not true Kel.  I’ll talk to you guys in like 30 after you bathe**

~~~

Alex opens Skype 28 minutes later and sees before it has even finished loading Kelley is calling her.  Alex accepts the call and soon Kelley’s face is filling the screen, her wet hair tied back in a ponytail.

“Okay, Alex, spill,” Kelley demands as soon as her face appears on screen.

“Hello to you too.  Where is everyone else?”

“Not here yet.”

“I’d rather tell you all at once.”

Kelley pouts out her lip.  “But I’m special.  I should get to know first.”

Alex ignores her.  “So how’s Minnesota?”

Kelley continues to pout for a few seconds before launching into everything that has happened in the past two days.

Ten minutes later, Allie and Christen walk in apologizing.  “Sorry.  We ran into Tobin.”

“But I told her Moe was looking for her,” Allie says with a mischievous smile.

Kelley reaches her hand out and Allie high fives it before turning to Alex.  “So what is the big important Operation Talex news?”

Alex looks over the top of her computer screen at the picture of Tobin once more before she looks at each face squished into the computer.  “We’ll not being with her these past two weeks has made me realize something.  I don’t want to be away from her ever again.  She keeps telling me she will be home soon and the fact that she is coming home to me is what I want forever.”  Alex continues even though they all have already figured out what she’s going to say.  “I want to ask her to marry me.”

After cheers, congratulations, and a few fake tears on Kelley’s part, Alex tells them she needs help planning everything out.

“Okay so what’s first?” Christen asks.  “What do you have planned so far?”

“I have no idea.  How do you propose to someone who you were previously engaged to?”

Christen smiles peacefully at Alex.  “Deep breath.  It’s all going to turn out great.”

“Yeah, Al.  You could propose to her over text and she would still be over the moon.”

“Over text...that sounds nice and easy,” Alex jokes.

“So first.  Do you have any ideas for when or where?”

“I was kinda thinking the beach since that’s like her favorite place, besides a field, and it’s sorta like the last time.”

“Okay.  We’ll work with beach for now,” Kelley smiles.  “Chris write that down.”

Christen holds up her empty hands in confusion, “With what?  This is your room.  You write it down.”

“Okay so what about the rings?” Allie asks, ignoring them.

“We already have rings,” Alex says then starting to worry.  “Wait should I buy her a new ring?”

All three shake their heads. “Not unless you want to,” Christen says.

Allie agreeing, “Yeah.  I mean if you guys decide after the fact then maybe but I think she’ll like it if you use the original ring.  She didn’t get to wear hers for too long and I think she would love to be able to wear it again.”

“Alright,” Kelley says, holding up her hands.  “I agree that you should use the rings but how do you get them.  Tobin never takes them off unless she’s playing soccer.  I mean you could do it before or after practice or something but then that’s not the beach.”

Alex face slightly falls.  “Maybe.  I don’t know.”

“How do I get her to not wear them?”

“I mean does she take them off to shower or sleep?” Christen asks.  Alex nods, slightly confused.  “You could take them and pretend Norbert ate them.”

Kelley nods, “That’s actually a good idea.”

Alex shakes her head.  “Norbert’s too docile.  He barely eats food off the floor.  She would question it too much.”

“Well what about instead of Norbert ‘eating’ them,” Allie says with air quotes, “ _you_ accidentally lose them.”

“How would I accidentally lose the necklace she wears all the time?” Alex asks.

Allie wiggles her eyebrows, “When you take them off in the heat of things have them end up somewhere where you know but could potentially become missing.”

“I can’t do that,” Alex blushes.  “Also pretty sure she might destroy our bedroom searching for them.  She would eventually realize something is wrong, and that’s on top of probably seriously freaking out.”

“We’ll figure something out.  Do you know when you want to do it?”

“Maybe next camp if she’s called up.  That’s near the beach and maybe if she isn’t called up, I can convince her to stay with my parents.”

“Okay so we have a month to plan this all out?” Christen asks, looking down at her phone.

Alex shrugs, “If I can keep it a secret that long then yes.  How did Tobin keep it a secret for so long?”

“Oh my God,” Allie groans.  “She did not shut up. I _looked after_ the ring while you guys had October camp and she texted me once a day to make sure it hadn’t mysteriously disappeared.”  Allie pauses then starts laughing, “Kind of like you and Norbert.”

“Yeah and at camp whenever you guys weren’t together, Tobin would most likely bring it up somehow.  She had some difficulty figuring it all out at first but soon after she got the ring we found out we were going to Hawaii so she decided that’s where she wanted to do it.  It was really hard for her to wait the three months or whatever, so every time she got excited or nervous she had to freak out to someone.”

“Wait.  Who did she scare?” Christen asks trying to remember.

Kelley thinks for a second then starts laughing.  “Oh my God.  Wasn’t it Em?  She just climbed into bed with her, thinking it was Moe.”

“Hold on,” Alex interrupts.  “Why was she climbing into bed with anyone that wasn’t me?”

“I don’t know,” Kelley waves her hand at the screen to shush Alex.  “She must have been wearing something from UVA and that’s why she thought it was Moe.  Anyways, she climbs on top of a sleeping Emily who wakes up and starts freaking out.  Tobin then also starts freaking out and falls off the bed.  I don’t think that was from the engagement stuff though.  I think that was just Tobin and Moe being weirdos.”

“So what does this have to do with me?” Alex asks amusement slightly overshadowed by her confusion.

“Nothing.  Why does everything need to be about you?” Kelley snips.  “Jeeze, Al.”  She shakes her head dramatically a huge smile on her face.

There is a knock on the door and the three heads turn as Alex hears the door open. Alex can’t quite figure out the expression that immediately comes across all of their faces until she hears the voice.

“Moe wasn’t looking for me?  She’s not even in the hotel.”  Kelley’s eyes flick down to the computer screen.

“Uh yeah, sorry.  Must have heard her wrong,” Allie responds, also glancing down at the screen, not sure how Alex wants to handle this.

“Tobs,” Alex calls out, hoping Tobin can hear her.

“Alex?” Tobin says confused as she moves around the bed to see the screen of the computer.

“Hey, baby,” Alex smiles when she comes into frame.

Tobin looks at the three women on the bed and then at Alex.  “What’s going on?  I don’t trust any of you right now.”

“Just wedding stuff,” Allie quickly covers, not technically lying.

“Oh.  Do you need help?” Tobin asks moving to the chair near the desk.

“No.  I think we’re finished for now.”

Tobin nods and props her feet up on the desk.  She starts playing with the rings around her neck, not really focused on the three plus Alex.  Kelley turns the computer so Alex can see Tobin, sliding the rings on and off her finger.

“I think you guys are right,” Alex says after watching Tobin.  “The ones we picked out are perfect.”

Tobin looks up, shocked to find four pairs of eyes staring back at her.  “Sorry, what?”

“Alex was just telling us that she thinks you would look sexy bald,” Kelley says with a straight face.

Christen starts laughing while Tobin’s eyes start to bulge.

“I did not,” Alex argues.  “She would look sexy no matter what, but please keep your hair,” Alex begs.  “I prefer to have something to grab onto.”

Tobin’s cheek turn red immediately and Kelley starts gagging.  

Christen rolls her eyes.  “And with that, I’m out.”  She leans down to look at the computer screen and putting her face in front of the camera. “Text me if you think of any more wedding stuff I can help with.”

“Thanks, Chris.”

“I’m probably going to go get coffee.  You guys want me to bring you back anything?”

The two on the bed shake their head.  Tobin raises her hand to Christen slightly. “Hold on.  Hey Lex, did you want to talk?”

“I mean I always want to talk to you but go get some coffee and you can text me.”

Tobin hops up, moving to the screen.  She kisses towards the camera.  “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Alex watches Tobin walk out of the door before Kelley and Allie’s faces fill the screen again.

~~~

Alex sits patiently in the car, waiting her eyes trained on the window leading to baggage claim.  As soon as Tobin walks out of the sliding glass doors Alex hops out of her car and waits impatiently at the back of the car.  Once Tobin is within arms reach, Alex pulls her in and connects their lips.

They spend a few moments reconnecting before Alex pulls back.  “Let’s get you home,” she whispers, gripping the rings against Tobin’s shirt in her hands.  Tobin gives her a quick kiss before stepping back to load her bags into the car.

~~~

A few days later they return to the airport, heading for Miami.  Alex talks with the woman at the counter as Tobin tries to coax Norbert into the crate filled with his favorite toys.  “Come on, buddy.  You get to meet grams and gramps. I just need you to get into the crate first.”  Norbert licks the side of her face. Tobin groans.  Alex leans down, picking up a toy.  She waves it in front of Norbert’s face and then tosses it into the back of the crate.  Norbert chases after it and Tobin quickly shuts the door.

“Teamwork,” Alex says, kissing Tobin’s cheek before she finishes checking Norbert in.

~~~

Alex wakes up to Tobin shaking her shoulder in the guest room of her parents house, lit up only by the bedside light.  She whimpers and pushes Tobin’s hand away.  “Sleep,” she yawns.

“I want to show you something,” Tobin whispers fully awake.

“Later,” Alex groans as she rolls over away from the light.

“No, baby, just wake up for like an hour. You can sleep all day.  It will be worth it.  I promise.”

“Fine,” Alex groans, rolling out of bed.  She slips her feet into a pair of her flip flops and grabs one of Tobin’s old UNC sweatshirts.  Tobin waits for her at the door, holding her hand out for Alex to take.  

Tobin quietly leads Alex through the dark house and out the back door.  Norbert walks through the door before Tobin closes it.  Tobin leads her to the lounge chair and sits down, spreading her legs for Alex to climb in between.  Alex snuggles into Tobin’s arms.  The sky pinking up as Alex rests her head against the midfielder’s chest.  

“Why am I awake this early?” Alex sleepily asks.

Tobin looks down to find Alex’s eyes closed.  “Lex, the sunrise.  You need to open your eyes.”

Alex slowly opens her eyes, yawning into Tobin’s chest.  They sit in silence for twenty minutes, Alex focusing on the steady rhythm of Tobin’s heartbeat.  Alex glances up and smiles at the peaceful look spread over Tobin’s face as she watches the sky change.   

She turns her gaze back towards the sky and watches as the dark sky turns to pink then to red to orange to yellow.  Once the sun becomes visible overhead and blue starts to cover the sky.  Alex tilts her head up and presses a kiss to Tobin’s jaw.  Tobin smiles and looks down, “Was that an okay reason for me to wake you up?”

Alex yawns, “I guess.”  Tobin’s smile falters slightly and Alex raises her hand up to cup her cheek.  “It was beautiful,” she says before kissing her jaw again.  “Thank you.”

Tobin tilts her head farther down to connect their lips.  Alex uses her hands to push herself up so she can hover over Tobin, kissing her back.  She sucks Tobin’s lower lip into her mouth, pulling slightly back.  Tobin’s arms tighten around Alex in surprise.  

After a few minutes, Alex pulls away and looks down at Tobin, both with smiles spread across their faces.  “I love you.”

“I love you too.  Now let’s go back to bed for a few hours before we have to go do wedding stuff.”

“I didn’t think I could love you more but you mention sleep and bam,” Alex jokes as she stands up.  “Come on, Norbs.  Back to bed.”

Tobin follows after her little family, watching Alex scratch the top of Norbert’s head as they walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter left. I have a plan for a new story but I can continue this through promps.


	31. The End but a Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. I promised it would be long and it's over double what they normally are. Enjoy.

Tobin turns her head, smiling at Alex.  Alex smirks, pointing forward as the music starts.  Tobin looks Alex up and down real quick before turning forward and starting to walk down the aisle.  Alex can’t keep the smile off of her face as she imagines the next time Tobin walks down the aisle.  She gets to her spot in front of Tobin and turns to watch Allie walk down the aisle.  

She smiles throughout the whole ceremony.  One for Allie and her beautiful day.  Two for wanting to go through this with Tobin.  

An hour later she claps as best she can with the flowers in her hands as Allie and Bati kiss to end the ceremony.  Tobin pumps her fists, bouquet in hand as the newly married couple turns to walk away.

~~~

Alex holds Tobin’s hand as they walk towards the dance floor together.  Tobin’s turns and moves them to Alex’s waist, her thumbs brushing the exposed skin between the skirt and crop top.  They slide around to her back as Alex takes a step in and wraps her arms around the midfielder’s neck.

Tobin leans her head down to Alex’s shoulder as they slowly start to move with the music.  “Would this have been us?” Alex asks after 30 seconds.

Tobin picks her head up.  “Huh?”

“This wedding.  Was it supposed to be us? Ours?”

“I mean Allie has had this date for a long time.  Before our engagement,” Tobin explains.  “We wouldn’t have done it too close to this.”

“When did we want to do it?” Alex asks, playing with the hair at the nape of her neck

Tobin shrugs.  “We hadn’t discussed it too much.  We were leaning more towards when it would be at least warm enough to do it outside but that didn’t do much since it could be warm in the winter if we are far enough south.”

“Did we talk about where?”

“Not really.  I really just wanted it outside, maybe on the beach.  You thought that would be pretty but beyond that we didn’t have much to go on.  We were going to discuss it more once camp ended.”

The song changes to a fast song and Tobin moves to take a step back but Alex holds tight.  “Dance with me,” she breathes into Tobin’s ear and reaches down for her hands.  Tobin smiles and pulls Alex in for a kiss.  She lets the fast paced music pulse through her as she caresses the back of Alex’s neck.  Alex sucks on Tobin’s lower lip but the soft moan is lost in the pumping bass from the speakers ten feet away.

They pull apart when the song ends, both out of breath and eyes half open.  “I love you,” Alex says as Tobin leads her to the bar.  

Tobin smiles and squeezes her hand, but before she can respond Kelley pops up in front of them.  “Now that you two are done making out want to come dance with us?” Kelley points to the far side of the dance floor where quite a few of their teammates are dancing.

Tobin shakes her head quickly and loosens her grip on Alex’s hand.  “Come on, babe,” Alex tries as she holds tight, starting to pull her in the direction of the dancing soccer players.  Tobin groans but allows Alex to pull her to the circle, a smile plastered to her face.

~~~

Once the night comes to a close Tobin and Alex wait for their rental car at the valet.  Alex moves to the driver’s side when it arrives and climbs in.  “Do you know where you’re going?” Tobin asks as she gets in the passenger seat.

“I’ll figure it out,” Alex responds as she pulls away.

Tobin nods her head, “It’s a left out of the parking lot.”

Alex follows Tobin’s directions for ten minutes until she starts to see strip malls.  She pulls into the parking lot of one with a movie theater which has a few cars parked.  Tobin looks to her confused, “Uh, Lex, this is a parking lot.”  She ignores her and parks in the back corner of the lot, far away from all of the other cars and lights.

Alex unbuckles her seatbelt and pulls the keys out of the ignition.  Tobin recognizes the look in Alex’s eyes as soon as she turns towards her.  “Alex.  In a parking lot?  Seriously?”

Alex shrugs and opens the door.  “I’ve been tortured by you all day, all week really, and have not been able to do anything about it because we’re at your parents house.”  She steps out of the car and turns to look back at Tobin.  “I’m getting off in the back of this car.  There is no question about that.  The question is are you going to help me or am I going to have to do it all myself?”  She then closes the door and moves to the back of the SUV.  

Tobin is out of the car before Alex’s hand even reaches the handle for the back row.  She smirks as she opens the door and climbs in, Tobin copying her.  As soon as both doors shut, Tobin slides over next to Alex, her hand quickly finding the zipper of the skirt and unzipping it.  Alex lifts her hips and Tobin pulls it off easily in one firm tug.  

Tobin bites her lip when she sees the sheer black underwear.  “I would have worn a matching bra,” Alex explains, “but I just ended up not wearing one at all.”  Tobin bites her lip, nodding.  Alex grins at her inability to talk.  Alex throws one leg over Tobin’s lap and straddles her, ducking her head so her lips brush against Tobin’s ear.  “Is that okay?”

Tobin nods again and runs her hand up Alex’s spine into her loose fitting crop top.  Alex finds the soft spot below Tobin’s ear and starts sucking on it gently while she grinds her hips into Tobin’s waist.  

Tobin brings her hands down to rest on Alex’s hips, guiding the rocking motion while exposing her neck more.  She can feel the heat coming from between Alex’s legs and holds her still.  Alex pulls back and looks down at her confused. “What?” she asks.

“You said you wanted to get off and I kinda need you to get off of me so I can get you off,” Tobin smirks.

Alex face matches Tobin’s, “Where do you want me?”

Tobin shifts over slightly and guides Alex to the center of the back seat.  She uses her arms to keep her up as her bare left leg stretched across the fabric of Tobin’s skirt.  Tobin runs her fingers up and down the soft skin, getting closer each time to where Alex wants her most but never reaching.

After the tenth time, Tobin picks up the long skirt and moves so she is kneeling in between Alex’s legs.  Alex slides herself back so she can lean against the door.  She quickly reaches for Tobin, pulling her closer and connecting their lips.  Tobin uses one hand to hold herself up while the other finds it’s way between Alex’s legs and rubbing her through the thin fabric.  Alex lifts her hips and pulls back just enough to breath, “Off,” before sucking Tobin’s lip into her mouth.

Tobin reaches for the band and tries to pull them off to no avail.  She pulls back from Alex causing a low whine.  She then quickly grabs the fabric and after some struggling in the cramped space Alex’s underwear disappears into the trunk.  Alex bites her lip and pulls Tobin back to rejoin their but Tobin holds herself steady.  Her eyes glance down to Alex’s dripping core and she reaches a finger out, running it through the slick folds.  Alex’s breath catches in her throat and Tobin starts to bend down.  

It takes some maneuvering but Tobin is able to get situated, softly blowing over Alex, who runs her fingers over the top of Tobin’s head cupping the back and pulling her closer.  Tobin allows herself to be pulled into Alex, quickly taking her clit into her lips and sucking on it hard.  A loud moan fills the car and Tobin starts to rub her tongue over the sensitive skin.

Tobin releases the suction she has on Alex’s clit and rubs circles around it before the grip on her hair becomes tight and Alex’s hips start rocking up and down uncontrollably.  Tobin lets Alex grind against her face, pushing her tongue farther out to apply even more pressure.  Once her hips slow again, Tobin moves her hand to slowly push two fingers inside of Alex.  They slide in easily and start to pump, curling slightly each time they exit.

“I need you to to kiss me,” Alex begs, her eyes barely open as she grinds into Tobin’s tongue and fingers.  Tobin quickly moves to kiss Alex as she pumps her fingers in and out, reaching deep inside of her.  The kiss is wet and sloppy as Alex pulls up Tobin’s skirt and tugs her underwear down to her knees.  She reaches out her left hand, finding Tobin’s clit and rubbing it with her fingers.  

Alex tilts her head back as the need to breathe becomes too great, exposing her neck for Tobin who attacks it with purpose.  Alex’s moans start to fill the car again and her hips lift fully off the seat with each thrust to meet Tobin’s fingers.  Her other hand reaches to Tobin’s stomach, sneaking under the shirt and cupping Tobin through her bra.  Tobin moans softly into Alex’s skin as she nibbles along her jaw.

It only takes a few more minutes for Tobin’s fingers and lips and the thought of getting Tobin off to send Alex over the edge.  Her hips buck up repeatedly and the moans turn to shouts, mixing in cries of ‘Don’t stop,’ ‘Fuck,’ and ‘Fuck me.’

Alex collapses back into the steamed up window, panting.  Tobin stills her fingers when Alex reaches out and grabs hold of her wrist.  Tobin moves to Alex’s lip, placing a soft kiss right on the corner of her smile.  “You are so hot.”  Alex smiles and nods, still not able to form words.

Alex looks up into Tobin’s eyes, seeing the true love that is staring down at her reinvigorates her.  She brings her hand back up to Tobin’s clit and pushes hard against it, causing her to moan.  Alex bites her lip and looks down to where her hand is covered by Tobin’s skirt.

“Take off your underwear,” Alex demands.  Tobin quickly reaches down to her knees and pulls the underwear off, tossing it in the back with Alex’s.  

Alex sits up more and pulls Tobin with her.  She gives Tobin a deep kiss, her tongue running against the roof of Tobin’s mouth, tasting herself.  She pulls back and slides down so she is laying across the row of seats, Tobin kneeling above her.  Alex grabs the hem of the skirt and lifts it over her head.  

Before Tobin can even process what going on, Alex’s lips find her clit and her hand immediately goes to cradle Alex’s head to hold her in place.  Tobin’s hips rock as Alex uses her tongue to apply pressure against Tobin’s clit.  She then slides it lower, pushing it up inside of Tobin, eliciting another moan.

Alex grins as she pulls her tongue out and does it again.  Tobin’s hips slowly match Alex’s rhythm, moaning each time she enters her.  Alex moves back to Tobin’s clit and starts hungrily sucking on it.  She reaches up out of the skirt to grab Tobin’s chest, finding the shirt and bra that had been covering it only a few minutes ago gone and Tobin’s nipples hard.

Alex smiles to herself as she pulls on each of Tobin’s nipples, knowing that it will increase the speed of Tobin’s hips against her face.  She smiles when she is proven right and continues to work Tobin’s chest while the midfielder’s hips move quickly.  Tobin’s moans fill the car and Alex knows she’s close.  She brings her left hand down to Tobin’s butt.

“Come for me, baby,” Alex breathes before sucking hard on Tobin’s clit and digging her nails into the skin guiding Tobin’s hip thrusts.

Tobin’s moans become louder as her mind becomes blank, her only focus on Alex between her legs.  She holds Alex tight against her core until her body gives out and she collapse against the cool window in front of her.  Alex peaks out from the skirt, biting her lip as she looks up Tobin’s bare torso to her dazed expression.  She smiles at the rings hanging from her neck.

“That,” Tobin breathes, taking a moment before continuing, “was hot.”

Alex grins. “You’re hot,” she responds as she reaches up with her hand, unbeknownst to Tobin, until two fingers push up into her.  The midfielder’s eyes bug out before closing.  She sits back onto the fingers, bouncing on them in rhythm with the thrusts from Alex’s finger.  “You are so wet,” Alex says smug as she watches Tobin’s chest bounce.

Tobin groans and pushes up off the window.  She grabs the headrest with one hand and reaches back with the other, finding Alex’s slit and slidding her finger through.  She then brings the finger to her lips, staring right into Alex’s eyes as she does so.  Once she slowly pulls her finger out, she smirks, “So are you.”

Tobin reaches back and finds Alex’s clit quickly, she pushes past it, using the heel of her hand to apply pressure while she pushes two fingers in.  She matches the beat of her fingers to the beat she is rocking against Alex’s fingers.

Not wanting to be outdone, Alex ducks back under Tobin’s skirt and connects her lips with Tobin’s clit.  “Fuck,” Tobin moans and her hips start to move faster.  Tobin’s fingers curl up into Alex, causing her to bite down.  She almost pulls away but a long, loud moan escapes Tobin.  “Fuck, Lex.  I’m so close.”  

Alex sucks on Tobin’s clit, alternating between softly biting or using her tongue to apply pressure.  Tobin’s moans grow louder and she starts pumping in and out of Alex faster.  Alex raises her hips up to meet Tobin’s hand as she sucks Tobin’s clit.  

Tobin’s fingers curl into Alex, pushing hard into her, causing her to moan loudly against the clit in her mouth.  Tobin smiles and does it again with purpose, knowing it’s a sure fire way to get Alex off.

Alex’s head falls onto the seat as Tobin expertly works her fingers inside Alex.  It only takes a minute until Alex is using Tobin’s thigh to muffle her cries of ecstasy.  Tobin smiles as she looks around the fogged up windows of their rental car.  

Before she even can hope that no one has seen them, Alex’s lips are around Tobin’s clit again and her fingers are mimicking the motions Tobin’s had just done inside of her.  Her hips start to rock again and it doesn’t take long for her to get off as well.  She picks up the skirt to reveal Alex’s face and quickly moves to lay on top of her, kissing every inch of her face.  “I love you so much,” she whispers once she is done.  

Alex squeezes her in a tight hug.  “I love you, too.”

~~~

Alex walks out of the guest bedroom, freshly showered, and heads towards the kitchen, looking for Tobin.  There is no sign of the midfielder but her mother is sitting at the kitchen table.  “Have you seen your daughter?” she asks.

Cindy looks up from the newspaper in her hands.  “She took Norbert for a walk to try and tire him out before you guys head up to Orlando.  She should be back soon.”  Alex nods, sitting down across the table from her after grabbing a cup of coffee.

“So I was wondering if we could spend Christmas here. I know we were supposed to come see you last year but we were in the hospital.  I know it would mean a lot to Tobin.”

“Of course,” Cindy says.  “You two are always welcome here.”

Alex smiles and looks down to the dark liquid in the mug she has cradled in her hand.  “And maybe while we’re here you could help us plan the wedding,” Alex says quietly.

“I’m sorry.  What?” she exclaims.

Alex smiles and looks up, “That’s if she says yes.”

“Are you serious?” Cindy asks, wide eyed.

Alex nervously nods.  “I’m going to ask her in California.”

Cindy stands up and quickly moves around to Alex who has just enough time to stand before she is wrapped in a hug.  They hold each other for only a few seconds when the door opens and they hear the sound of paws running through the house.  The two women break apart just as Tobin walks through the door.

Tobin walks over to them, giving Alex a quick kiss on the cheek.  She then looks to her mom who is almost in tears.  “Um,” she looks back at Alex, “what’s going on?”

“I was just asking if we could spend Christmas here,” Alex explains.

Tobin raises an eyebrow and looks to her mom, “And that’s it?”

Cindy nods, “I’m just so happy that you’re going to be with us this year.”  She pulls Tobin into a hug.  Tobin wraps her arms around mom’s waist with an amused smile.  

Once they pull apart Tobin turns to Alex, “We should go soon.  It’s a pretty long drive.”

Alex nods, “I’m packed and ready to go.  I packed up most of your stuff too.  We just need to load it all up in the car.”

Tobin nods and grabs Alex’s mug from the table.  She pecks Alex’s lips and walks towards their room, bringing the mug to her lips as Norbert trails after her.

~~~

Alex sits in Ashlyn’s kitchen while Ali stands at the sink cleaning the dishes from their late lunch.  “So Ash and I need to go out and get our makeup done in a little bit.  Can I trust that you will keep all activities to your bedroom?”

Alex tilts her head to the side and gives Ali an ‘are you serious?’ look.

Ali holds her hands up in defense.  “Just saying I saw how close you two were dancing at the wedding and I doubt you did anything at her parents house.”

“We didn’t do anything at her parents house,” Alex confirms, unable to keep the smile off her face.

Ali raises her eyebrows and turns the sink off.  She leans against the counter opposite of Alex and studies the forward’s face.  After a few silent moments Ali can’t figure it out and has to ask, “Where?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Alex smirks.

Ashlyn walks into the room looking up from her phone.  “Know what?”

“They had sex but not at Tobin’s parents house but she won’t tell me where,” Ali answers over Alex’s “Nothing.”

“In their car,” Ashlyn responds.  “Isn’t that obvious?

Alex drops her face into her hands.  “Why Ash?”

Ashlyn ignores the question and looks around as she sits down next to Alex, “Where’s Tobs?”

Alex shrugs as she looks up ignoring Ali’s smirk, “I don’t know.  She said she needed to go get something from her bag but that was like fifteen minutes ago.”

“Where’s Norbert?” Ashlyn asks.

Alex looks down at the ground where she thought he was lying.  “I guess he went with Tobin.”

They continue talking until they hear footsteps.  Alex first sees Norbert come around the corner.  “Oh, my boy,” Alex coos and she slides off the stool to her knees, “what are you wearing?”

He runs over to her and she more closely inspects the black fabric he is dressed in.  “He’s wearing his halloween costume,” Tobin answers as she comes around the corner.  “I know it doesn’t look exactly like it should but there are very few dragon dog costumes.”

“Well, I think he looks adorable,” Alex coos while she pulls on the little wings that sit on top of his back.

“That’s cause he’s a handsome little dragon,” Tobin answers as she pulls Alex back up and presses a kiss to her lips.  Alex moans softly and leans into her.  They only pull apart a few moments later when Ashlyn loudly clears her throat.  

“There will be no funny business in my kitchen,” she states.  “Or any other public room.”

Tobin holds her hand up to her forehead, saluting Ashlyn.  “Yes, ma’am.”

~~~

Tobin sits on the counter in the kitchen, chewing on an apple when there is a knock on the door.  She hops off of the counter and walks towards the door.  She tells Norbert, who is waiting impatiently, to sit.  She grabs his collar and opens the door.  She first sees the smile of two moms as she hears three high pitched voices,  “Trick or treat.”

Tobin looks down and smiles when she sees three young girls, no older than five, dressed as a princess, a pirate, and a vampire.   “Well, what do we have here?” Tobin asks as she reaches for the bowl of candy Ashlyn had set out and bends down.  She complements each girl on her costume as they take a handful of candy.  They all say thank you after being prompted by their moms who also thank her before walking away.

Tobin closes the door and heads back to the kitchen.  She picks up her phone.

**Tobin: Hey you should probably pick up some more candy**

Ashlyn starts typing out a reply almost right away.

**Ash: How are you already out of candy**

**Tobin: We’re not out just I’m not good at saying anything other then take as much as you want.  They’re too cute**

**Ash: There are two huge bags in the pantry.  Do you think that’s enough or will I need to get more?**

Tobin stands up and heads to the pantry.  Once locating the two bags she texts Ashlyn back.

**Tobin: It should be good but if you get a lot of kids it might not be**

**Tobin: You might want to get another bag just in case**

There is another knock and Tobin sets her phone down to go greet the trick-or-treaters.

~~~

“This was the last bag of candy in the whole city,” Ashlyn complains as she walks through the door.  Tobin stops mid-bite into the Kit Kat, looking guilty.  “Seriously Tobin.  Have we even had any or kids or are you just eating all of the candy.”

“This is my first piece,” Tobin defends, looking over Ashlyn’s painted face and trying not to laugh.  “We’ve had like twenty little kids come by and were almost done with the bowl.”

Ashlyn shakes her head, “I’ll answer the door from now on.”

“That might not be the best idea,” Ali says, joining them in the kitchen.  “You’ll probably scare them.”

Ashlyn frowns, “Fine. Where’s Alex?”

Tobin shrugs.  “Sleeping I guess.  I was told not to disturb her.”

Ashlyn nods, “I’m going to go finish getting ready,” and heads up the stairs towards her bedroom.  She hears muffled voices as she passes the closed door of the guest room that Alex and Tobin are staying in for the night.

She pauses for a moment and hears a second voice.  She raises her hand and knocks softly on the door.  The voices stop and Ashlyn can hear footsteps.  The door opens an inch and Ashlyn can see half of Alex’s face peeking through the crack.  Once she sees it’s Ashlyn, the door opens a bit more and Alex sticks her head through, glancing down the hall.

“What’s up?” she asks after making sure Ashlyn is alone.

“I heard voices,” Ashlyn answers suspiciously.  “What are you doing?”

Alex chews on her lip for a moment before motioning Ashlyn into her room.  Ashlyn walks in and sees a computer sitting open on the bed.  Alex sits back down on the bed. “It was just Ash,” she says to the computer.

Ashlyn walks around to see Kelley’s face.  “What’s going on?” she asks, looking between Alex and the computer screen.

“Holy shit, Ash,” Kelley almost shouts as Ashlyn’s face becomes visible.  “You look creepy as fuck.  You should wear that during a game.  Freak the other team out. And the refs.  And everyone.”

Alex laughs as Ashlyn flips her off.  “What are you two up to?” Ashlyn asks again.

Kelley stays silent, letting Alex decide how much she wants to say.  Alex looks towards the closed door.  “You can’t tell anyone.”

Ashlyn nods and sits down at the foot of the bed, “Tell me.”

Alex takes a breath, slowly exhaling.  “I’m going to propose to Tobin.”

“Like for real? Oh my God.  Alex.  That’s so amazing.  When?  Tonight?”  Ashlyn asks in quick succession.

“No.  A club is not really the right place to propose to her.  I’m going to do it in Cali... on the beach.”

“When? Can I be there?  She’s going to cry.  I know it.  I want to see it,” Ashlyn says rapid fire.

Alex lets out a long groan and she falls back into the pillows with her hands over her face.  After a few moments of no further response, Ashlyn looks to Kelley.

Kelley rolls her eyes before answering Ashlyn.  “She was going to do it before camp but is freaking out and and we still don’t have a plan for Alex to get the rings from Tobin.”

Ashlyn turns to Alex, her soft expression masked by the frightening makeup on her face and body.  “Al, you know she’s going to say yes.  She hasn’t stopped loving you through this whole ordeal.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Alex says with her face still covered.  “I’m pretty sure she hated me after I hooked up with that guy.”

Ashlyn turns to the computer.  “Do you remember Tobin saying anything about hating her?  Cause I don’t.”

Kelley smiles and plays along.  “Nope.  All I remember is her blaming herself.”

Alex sits up quickly, looking straight at Kelley.  “Why would she blame herself for me drunkenly making out with some guy.”

Alex looks from Kelley to Ashlyn. “Because she kicked the ball,” Kelley responds.

“So.  That could have been anyone,” Alex says confused.

“It wasn’t just that.  It was sorta an unwritten thing that we were all going to do everything we could to get Abby a goal.  I don’t know if you’ve seen the game,” Alex shakes her head and Ashlyn continues.  “So China was all over Abby, double or even triple teaming her.  Tobin was taking the corners and on one right before the end of the first half instead of kicking the ball to her, she sent it towards you.  That’s when you hit the post.”

“But that still doesn’t mean it was her fault.  She was putting it into an open space if China was all over Abby.”

“We see that, Alex,” Kelley says, “but Tobin still blames herself.”

“Wait like still, even though we’re back together?”

Kelley shrugs, looking to Ashlyn for an answer.  “I mean I haven’t talked about it with her in a while.  Like maybe around her birthday cause…,” Ashlyn drawls, “ya know the whole kiss thing,”  Alex nods, “but she still was pretty adamant on it being her fault.”

Kelley nods in agreement.  “She blamed herself for so long before we knew.  We were all so focused on you at the beginning.  I mean don’t get me wrong we were there for Tobs too but more in a supportive capacity, the one you love is in the hospital, let me know if you need anything.”

Ashlyn takes over, “She just wanted to be alone.  She would give daily updates right around 8:05 every morning and that was really the most we got out of her.”

“Why so exact?” Alex asks, her chest physically hurting thinking about Tobin and how much pain she was in during the days prior to her waking up and then afterwards.

“Pretty sure that’s when your nurse would come in to check on you or something.  Chen was giving us more descriptive stuff but Tobin’s was very factual.” Kelley switches to an autonomous voice, “swelling down, vitals the same, still out.”

Alex’s fingers unconsciously run over the small scar behind her ear. “When I woke up everyone seemed worried about her,” Alex remembers, stating it almost as a question.

“I mean she hadn’t been eating, she was sleeping in a chair next to your bed.  She wasn’t taking care of herself at all.  I see now that was because she was blaming herself, torturing herself I guess.”

“Why hasn’t she talked to me about this?  I don’t blame her.  I never have.”

“And how would that conversation have gone Alex? ‘Hey so I know you don’t remember being in love with me and I’m sorry cause that’s my own fault for kicking a ball towards you,’” Kelley replies sarcastically.

“No.  I just… I don’t know.  I don’t want her to blame herself.”

“The only person that can possibly change her mind about that is you,” Ashlyn explains.

They talk for a few more minutes before Ashlyn leaves to go change and Alex starts getting her costume out.

~~~

“Can I have a waffle?” Tobin asks, her lips brushing against Alex’s ear so she can be heard in the packed club.

Alex reaches into her box of precooked eggo waffles and pulls one out.  Tobin reaches for it but Alex pulls it away and puckers her lips. Tobin shakes her head but leans in anyway to press a soft kiss against Alex’s lips. She pulls away after a moment smiling and Alex hands over the waffle.  Tobin tears it in half and hands one half back while taking a bite.

Alex takes the offered waffle and starts munching on it while Tobin wraps her arms around Alex’s waist and pulls her closer.  “Can you remind me why we thought spending almost a month sleeping in hotels or other people’s houses was a good idea?”  Alex looks at Tobin confused, chewing the waffle in her mouth.  Tobin leans to Alex’s ear and nibbles on it.  “It’s hard to do things like this when there are people that can hear.

Alex rolls her eyes.  “Pretty sure we handled it just fine after the wedding.”  Tobin bites her lip and nods.  “And I know a bunch of places near my parent’s house that we can drive to.”

“Good thing we got ample trunk space then,” Tobin comments as a fan approaches them with a camera.

~~~

Alex sits on the plane with Tobin’s cheek resting against her shoulder.  She looks down at her sleeping girlfriend and thinks back to less than a year ago when they were in this same position but a very different point in their relationship.  She reaches out and grabs the necklace that is now always on display.  She slips her pinky into the hole of both rings.  

‘ _I could take them now and she would never know_.'  Alex then thinks back to when she gave Tobin her ring back.  ‘ _Maybe not the best to make a lot of shitty memories at LAX_.’  She tilts her head more and softly presses her lips against the top of Tobin’s head.

Tobin smiles in her sleep and adjusts her position slightly.  Alex grabs her eye mask from the tray table and puts it on before resting her cheek against the top of Tobin’s head.

~~~

Alex walks over to the bench on the side of the field where she and Tobin had put down their bags an hour earlier.  She pulls a water bottle out and watches as Tobin jogs over with a ball at her feet, nutmegging invisible defenders.

Alex holds the water bottle out and Tobin takes it gratefully, squirting the cool liquid into her mouth before sitting down on the grass in front of Alex.  Alex looks over her high school field while Tobin looks up to the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face.

“What do you think it would have been like if we had known each other in high school?” Alex asks.

“You mean like if I went to school here with you?”  Alex nods.  “I mean think about your friends from high school then think about me.”

“Are you calling me prissy?” Alex scoffs.

Tobin shrugs looking at Alex, “If the cleat fits.”

“Rude,” Alex says quietly, kicking Tobin’s foot with hers.  Tobin smiles at her then turns her attention back to the sky.  Alex watches her for a few seconds before getting her attention.  “So I was talking talking to Kelley the other day and some things came up that I kinda want to talk about.”

“Okay,” Tobin says suspiciously. “Should I be scared?”

Alex shakes her head.  “It’s about the night after the Germany game...at the bar.”  Tobin nods, looking down to her feet splayed out in front of her.  “She kind of told me some stuff.”  Alex waits for some response from Tobin, anything, but after half a minute of nothing Alex continues.  “You know I didn’t mean for you to see that right? I thought you had left already.”  Tobin gives the smallest of head nods, her eyes focused on her foot as it rocks back and forth. “But you did.”

“Do we have to talk about this?” Tobin asks so softly Alex almost misses it.

Alex bites her lip, hearing the pain in Tobin’s voice and moves next to her.  “Kind of.  Do you remember what you said to them after you saw me with him?”

“I want to punch him in the face?” Tobin mutters.

Alex softly chuckles, “No.”  She reaches her hand out and placing it on Tobin’s thigh.  “You said you blamed herself.”

Tobin’s eyes stay focused on her legs, Alex’s hand now in view as it softly rubs the skin.  “I know you might never change that opinion but I want you to know that I don’t blame you.”

Tobin’s eyes snap up to Alex’s.  “Why?”

"Because it was a freak thing.  You very well could have kicked that ball and I started diving a millisecond later and the ball goes in, or over the top of the bar.  Or a Chinese player gets to it first.  So much happened after you kicked that ball that lead to me getting hurt.  Nothing that happened is your fault.  Also why does it matter?  We’re back together.  The only thing I blame you for is making me fall in love with you all over again.”

Alex leans into Tobin’s lips, letting her lips show Tobin just how much she loves her.  When Alex finally pulls back Tobin has a lopsided grin on her face.  “What?” Alex asks nervously.

“I had your mom buy cheese sticks, but they’re back at the house.”

Alex just shakes her head and squeezes Tobin’s leg.  “I love you.  All of the shit that happened means nothing because I am all yours and nothing will change that.”

Tobin smiles but can’t help voice her fear, “What if you hit your head again?”

“Have you never seen 50 First Dates?  You just gotta keep wooing me and  I’ll fall for you every time.”

“Hmm,” Tobin hums.  “How does one woo Alex Morgan?”

Alex thinks for a moment, her hand rubbing Tobin’s leg.  “A kiss wouldn’t hurt.”

“Then a kiss you shall receive,” Tobin says as she leans in to give Alex a long kiss.

~~~

Tobin stands with Alex’s mom, watching Alex say goodbye to Norbert.  Pam pulls her into a hug.  “You’re going to have to pull her away.”

Tobin sighs, “I know.  She’s just been acting weird lately.”

Pam’s eyes dart nervously towards Alex.  “How so?”

“I don’t really know.  She’s asking me weird questions and if I walk into the room when she’s on the phone, she quickly hangs up or will just look at me and smile.  But like not in a normal way.  I don’t know.  Something just seems off like she’s hiding something.”

“Maybe it’s your Christmas present,” Pam offers, trying to come up with an answer to throw Tobin off.

Tobin shrugs, “I don’t think so but maybe.”  Tobin glances down at her watch, “Okay we gotta go.”  She walks over to Alex, “Babe we need to leave if we want to make there before practice starts.”  

Alex pouts but presses a kiss to the top of his head.  “I love you my sweet, little boy.  I’ll see you in a week.  Be good while we’re gone.”  Tobin helps Alex up and pets his head while Alex goes to hug her mom.

~~~

Alex glances over as Tobin taps her fingers against the steering wheel.  “Did Allie send you pictures from her honeymoon?”

Tobin shakes her head.  “She’s actually leaving the bedroom?”

“They have a private room.  They can be naked everywhere.”

“Mmm,” Tobin hums, eyes on the road.  “That sounds nice.”  

Alex grins and reaches over, rubbing Tobin’s arm.  “We live in a private house and you never walk around naked.”

“I meant you walking around naked, not me,” Tobin explains.

“But if I’m naked aren’t you going to want to be naked with me,” Alex pouts.

“You didn’t need to take my clothes off last night,” Tobin retorts, glancing over at Alex with a smirk.  

“Not like you really gave me a chance to strip you when you shoved my hand down your pants.”  Tobin blushes as Alex’s hand rubs the top of Tobin’s thigh.   “It was pretty hot though.”

~~~

When Tobin walks off the bus after their morning training session, she turns to Alex, stepping off behind her.  “Want to snuggle and watch tv?”

“Oh, um,” Alex tries to think of an excuse.  Deciding not to lie she replies, “I was going to go get coffee with Kelley, Allie, and Chris.”

Tobin smiles, “Coffee sounds good.  Let me just go change into flip flops.”  Alex looks to Kelley next to her for help.

“Tobs,” Christen says from behind them causing the three to turn.  “Jess says she’s going to watch the ACC game.”

“Yeah,”Jess says, next to Christen.  “Want to watch with me?”

Tobin nods and looks at Alex, “Can you get me a cup?”  Alex nods and Tobin turns back to Jess.  “Meet you at your room in five?” Jess nods and heads into the hotel with Christen while Tobin holds Alex back.

“Well, I’ll see you in a few hours,” Alex says, leaning in and giving her a kiss.  

“You could come with me… watch the game,” Tobin tries.

Alex shakes her head.  “Allie was going to tell us about her honeymoon.”

“Fine,” Tobin pouts.  “I’m serious about getting me a coffee.”

“Of course.  I would have even if you didn’t ask.”

“You’re the best,” Tobin says as she kisses Alex’s cheek.

“Go enjoy your game.”

~~~

“Alright,” Christen says as they all sit down with their coffee.  “What else do we need to figure out?”

“I still don’t know how to get the rings,” Alex groans.

“What if you just ask her not to wear them for the date?” Allie asks.

Kelley shakes her head, “She’s not going to like that.”

“What other choice does she have?

Alex sighs, “I guess that’s my best choice for now.”

“Is that really better than her thinking she lost it?” Christen asks.

“She never let’s them out of her sight.  She would think they were stolen...know they were stolen.”

“Okay so is everything else ready?” Kelley asks.

Alex nods, “My parents know to pretend we’re doing dinner our first night in Carson.  I’m going to try and tell the team after our first game so they know in case I need help with anything.  Also I’m going to need one of you to be in charge of getting the ring.  If she takes it off I guess I can ask her roommate to keep track of it  and maybe one of you can go get it and bring it to me.”

“I got it,” Kelley jumps in.  “I had ring duty last time and I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I rocked it.”

“Okay so Kel will bring me the ring.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with all of us being there?” Christen asks.  “Because I do want to see but if you want to wait until after then we could just meet you at the restaurant for dinner.”

Alex smiles.  “Yeah you guys can be there but can you stay in the parking lot till I call you over.  I feel like we’re going to need to talk for a bit even if she says yes.”

“What do you mean if?” Allie asks incredulously.

“Yeah Al,” Kelley adds.  “I thought you were over this if shit.  She’s been wearing your engagement rings.  She hasn’t wanted to be with anyone else for years.”

“Her love for you never faltered,” Christen comments before draining her cup.

“But she could think it’s too soon or something,” Alex worriedly explains.  “I know she loves me I just don’t know if she’s ready to be engaged again.”

“She’s going to say yes,” Allie states and the other two nod in agreement.

Once they all finish their drinks, they stand up to leave, Alex getting Tobin her coffee before they make their way back to the hotel.

~~~

“Alex you need to sit down,” Kelley groans as Alex paces in front of her.  “You’re going to put a hole in the rug.”

“She’s going to be so upset with me.”

“But then she’s going to be so happy she won’t remember that at all.”   Alex continues to pace, Kelley sighs, “Okay, stop.  They’re doing yoga down in the conference room.  You need to clear your head.”

“I don’t wanna,” Alex whines.  

“Go and I’ll let you have an hour of alone time in this room tonight,” Kelley bargains.

Alex stands still debating the two options in her head.  She groans as she turns to grab her room key and phone.  “Fine,” she grumbles. “I’ll go.  But not because of that.”

Kelley raises her eyebrows.  “Oh, so do I not need to give you the room?”

Alex glares, “I hate you sometimes.”

“Love you too,” Kelley responds with a cheeky smile.

~~~

“I want to show you all my favorite places,” Alex pleads at the breakfast table.

“You do know I’ve been to Cal before right?  Like you’ve already shown me all your favorite places,” Tobin replies as she lifts the bagel to her mouth

“Bet I didn’t show you-” Alex cuts herself off and looks down at her empty plate.

The sudden silence has Tobin interested.  “Show me what?”

Alex shakes her head, “No, it’s fine.  We probably won’t have that much time anyways.”

Tobin raises her eyebrow.  “We have almost the entire day.  Tell me.”

Alex sighs.  “I was going to say all my favorite make out spots but I feel like I don’t really need to take you there.”

Tobin chuckles, nodding her head.  “Good point.  Don’t really need to see all the spots where you and Serv used to make out.”  Tobin takes a sip of water.  “It’s not that I don’t want to go with you it’s just more like isn’t this supposed to be your thing.  I didn’t go there so won’t it be kind of weird.”

Alex shakes her head, “No.  They invited me because I’m an alum but it was an open invitation.  Tobin I’m sure the team would love to meet you.  They’re a bunch of soccer players, who wouldn’t want to meet you.”

Tobin nods, “Okay but can I just sit on the bench if you for some reason start coaching?”

Alex looks at Tobin confused.  “Sure, but why would that happen.”

“Because you’re you and you like the youths and whenever this happens you end up making me a ball girl and tell them to all kick the ball as far as they can in random directions.”

“I do not,” Alex states firmly.

“You have before,” Tobin smiles.  “Luckily they were like five so the balls didn’t actually go that far.”

Alex shakes her head, “I know you’ve already seen them before but can I still show you all my favorite places?”

Tobin nods and leans over to press a kiss against her cheek.  “Of course, love.”

~~~

Alex looks down at her hand as she unties her cleats.  Her eyes focus in on her bare ring finger and she can’t help but smile. ‘ _That was the last game I’ll play without tapping a ring on_.’  She looks over at Tobin who is half dressed, talking to Kelley.

‘ _One more day.  Less than 24 hours_.’

Alex stands up and stalks over to Tobin with only one shoe on.  She grabs her around her bare midsection and turns her.  Before Tobin has time to react Alex pushes their lips together.

“Alright then,” Kelley laughs, walking away “good talk.”

Alex hears a few whistles but keeps her focus on Tobin’s lips moving against hers. Half a minute later Tobin pulls back.  “Hi.”

Alex beams. “Sorry.  I just couldn’t help myself.”

Tobin smiles back, “It’s cool.  I know I’m irresistible.  It was the least I could do for you after you scored two goals.”

“So if I had only scored one, you wouldn’t have left me kiss you?”

“Eh, no I probably would.  I’d also probably let you kiss me even if you scored an own goal but let’s hope we don’t need to find out how true that is.”

“Hear, hear,” Ashlyn says as she walks by.

~~~

Alex finishes unpacking her bag and whimpers at her next task.  Not able to delay her talk with Tobin any longer she grabs her key and heads out of her room.  She knocks on Tobin’s propped open door as she slowly sticks her head in.  She sees Tobin laying on her bed, phone in hand, and Crystal typing away on her laptop.  Tobin smiles at her and Alex walks in saying hi to her fellow forward as she sits on Tobin’s bed near her hips.

“Can we go to the beach tonight?” Alex asks as Tobin places a hand on her leg.

“I thought we were doing dinner with your parents?”

“They had to cancel.”

Tobin sits up on her elbows.  “Everything all right?  Your mom seemed really excited when I talked to her yesterday.”

Alex shakes her head, ‘ _Of course she would be talking to Tobin about something that was never going to happen._  “Yeah.  They’re just tired.  I told them we could do lunch tomorrow or something.”

Tobin accepts the lie and turns back to her phone.  “Okay.  I just miss Norbs.”

“I know,” Alex replies.  “We’ll see him tomorrow.”

Tobin nods her head absent mindedly.  “Are we going to dinner still or just grab something quick on the way?”

“Whatever you want. I just want to be at the beach at sunset.”

“I’m not really hungry now.  Why don’t we eat at the beach?”

Alex bites her lip, coming up with an excuse quickly.  “Because I’m going to be all sandy.”  She sees Crystal smirk as she continues to type on the other bed. “Why don’t we just pick something up on the way back?  We can eat it in the hotel or something.”

Tobin shrugs, “Sounds good.”

Alex stands up and takes a few steps towards the door.  She stops and turns to Tobin who is focused on her phone.  She takes a deep breath, and nervously gets her attention.  “Tobin.”

“Mmm,” Tobin hums, her eyes glancing up at Alex.

‘ _Just say it.  It will be worth it in the long run._ ’ “Could you maybe leave the rings at the hotel tonight?”  Alex can’t bear to look at Tobin’s face while asking this.  If she had been she would have seen the smile quickly fall and her hazel eyes mix with hurt and confusion.  

“Okay,” Tobin responds, voice devoid of emotion.  

“I’ll be back in 45 minutes and then we can head out,” Alex says to the floor, still not able to look at Tobin.  Alex exits the door and walks back to her room.

Tobin picks up the rings that rest on her chest and slides them onto her fingers.  Crystal looks over at Tobin’s sullen face.  Tobin stands up, stuffing her phone and key into her pocket.  “I’ll be back,” she mumbles as she walks out of the room, not even looking at Crystal.

Tobin finds herself in front of Ashlyn’s door, knocking.  The keeper opens the door with a smile until she notices the look on Tobin’s face.  “What’s wrong?”

“I think Alex is going to dump me tonight,” Tobin mutters.

“What?” Ashlyn asks confused.  She opens the door wider and ushers Tobin into the room.  She closes the door and follows Tobin, giving Ali a worried look while she sits next to Tobin on the other bed.  “Why do you think she’s going to break up with you, Tobs?”

“We were supposed to have dinner with her parents, but they apparently canceled which I don’t really believe based on how excited they were acting.  Also she wants me to leave the rings at the hotel.   _Not_ tuck them into my shirt.   _Leave_ them behind.  She doesn’t want me to wear them at all.  Why else would she want that except for she doesn’t want to be reminded of how she used to want to be with me forever and now she doesn’t even want to be with me for a night.”  Tobin’s eyes become wet.

Ashlyn puts her arm around Tobin’s shoulder and staring at Ali.  “Tobs,” Ali says, getting her attention from the floor.  “Before today has Alex given you any reason to think she wanted to break up with you?”

“She’s been acting weird since I got back from October camp.  Hanging up quickly when I come into the room or turning her phone away when she’s texting someone.  Maybe she liked when I was gone.  I don’t think she would cheat.  The Alex I know wouldn’t cheat, but maybe it was just too much for her.”  The tears start to freely run down Tobin’s cheeks.  “Maybe the pressure got to her and she realized she didn’t want to be with me.”

Ashlyn grabs Tobin’s shoulders and turns her to face her.  “You know Alex would never cheat on you.  Even if she didn’t want to be with you, she would never cheat on you.”  Tobin nods, knowing Ashlyn is right.  

“I don’t think she want to break up with you, Tobs,” Ali asks softly.

“Why can’t I wear our rings then?” Tobin whines.  “She used to pull them out of my shirt so she could see them.  Now she doesn’t want me wearing them at all.”

Ashlyn looks pointedly at Ali’s phone before getting Tobin’s attention again.  Ali nods, getting the message and picking up her phone.

**Ali: Hey.  I know you have a ton going on right now but I just want to let you know Tobin’s sorta freaking out**

**Ali: She think you want to break up with her because you want her to take off the rings**

**Ali: Ash and I are going to try to smooth things over.  This will all be worked out by the end of the night so I don’t want you to worry.  I’m so happy for you both**

It only takes a minute for Alex to respond.

**Alex: Well fuck.   I didn’t think it would be that bad.  Do what you can to make her think that’s not what I want without giving anything away.  Also team effort in getting the the rings so if you can get them text Kel if not I told Crys to pick them up.**

**Ali:  Will do. Love you**

Ali looks up at Tobin who is silently nodding as Ashlyn whisper’s reassurances into her ear.  “Hey, Tobs,” Ali says softly causing the two to look at her.  “Can I see the rings?”

Tobin looks down to the rings then slowly reaches up to pull the chain from around her neck.  She holds them close to her chest for a moment before reaching across the gap dividing the two beds.  Ali carefully takes them from Tobin’s grasp, not breaking eye contact.

“Do you love Alex any less when you’re not wearing them?” Ali asks.  Tobin’s eyes flick down to Ali’s hands than shaking her head.  “And I’m pretty sure you take these off when you guys have sex, when you guys make love.”  Tobin’s cheeks heat up but she nods her head slightly, her lips starting to turn upwards.  “Or does she like to fuck you with them on?”

“Oh my God.  Please stop,” Tobin laughs, burying her face in her hands.  Ashlyn smiles at Ali and puts her arm around Tobin again.  

“See... these rings are pretty to look at and when you’re apart a nice reminder of your love, but when you don’t wear them, it doesn’t mean the love you two have for each other is any less.”  Tobin nods and Ali continues.  “You’re going to the beach, right?” Tobin nods again.  “Maybe she just doesn’t want you to lose them or something.” Ali looks down at the rings.  “If I promise to make sure these stay safe, will you be okay going without this for tonight?”

Tobin shrugs but agrees, “Can I come get them when we get back tonight?”

Ali nods, “Yeah.  Just text me.  I’ll either be in here, my room, or one of the team rooms.”

“Thanks.  I guess I should go get ready.”  

Ali smiles and stands up, holding out her hand.  “I can help.”

Tobin wipes at her face, cleaning the tears away.  Ali follows after Tobin, pulling out her phone first texting Kelley.

**Kriegs: Hey.  I have the rings.  I’m heading to Tobin’s room to help her get ready I can either come meet you or you can come to me**

She then texts Alex to try and calm down the forward who has been nervous since they arrived at camp a week prior.

**Ali: I think she’s good and I have the rings.  Everything’s all set**

She walks into Tobin’s room, saying hi to Crystal before heading to the bathroom.  “Get in here Tobin.  I need to fix your makeup.”  Tobin trudges in and sits down on the closed toilet seat.  Ali holds the chain out with the rings.  “Want to hold this for a little bit longer?” Tobin nods and reaches out, taking it in her hand.  

There’s a knock on the door after Ali finishes the first eye.  They hear Kelley’s voice in the room talking to Crystal before she appears in the doorway to the bathroom.

“Hey, Ali.  Hey, Tobs.” She leans against the door frame. “You, uh, you ready Ali?”

Ali points her eyes down to Tobin’s hand.  “Let me just finish Tobin’s other eye.”  Kelley watches while Ali expertly applies the eye liner.  Once she finishes she smiles at Tobin.  “Perfect.  You’re a real lady killer.” Ali stands up straight and holds her hand out.  “You can do this.  You will get it back tonight.  I promise.  She still loves you and nothing will change that.”  Tobin looks at Ali’s hand then down at the rings.  She brings them up to her lips, giving them a kiss.

“Take care of them for me,” she asks of Ali before handing them over.

“Of course,” the defender replies.   

~~~

Alex pulls the team car into the mostly empty parking lot of the beach she used to go to in high school.  She sees the sun starting to dip low in the sky.  She pats the pocket of her jeans, feeling both rings secured safely before opening the door.

“Come on.”

Tobin steps out, leaving her flip flops in the car and rolling up her pant legs.  She walks around to the front of the car where Alex is waiting for her. Alex reaches out for her hand when she gets to her and Tobin smiles as they intertwine their fingers.

Alex leads them onto the sand and brings Tobin halfway to the water.  “This is pretty,” Tobin comments, moving to sit down but Alex squeezes her hand and keeps her standing.

“Hold on.  I need to say something first.”  Alex sees the worry lines start to form on Tobin’s face.  “It’s not bad.  I promise.”  Tobin nods, not believing her but turns fully to face her.  

Alex takes a few deep breaths, “Tobin you have been my rock since I woke up.  I don’t know how you put up with me when I was being such a bitch bu-,”

“You weren’t that bad,” Tobin interrupts.

“I was.  Let me get this out.  I was a bitch but you stayed with me.  That proves to me that you really do love me no matter what.  I know this time around we haven’t been dating long but I trust my instincts from before that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Tobin’s eyes change from wonder to shock to confusion than back. “When you went to camp in October, I missed you so much and I realized that no matter how far away our careers take us I always want you to come home to me...and Norbert.”  Alex drops Tobin’s hand from hers and reaches into her pocket.  “Tobin, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I don’t see why we need to wait any more to make something happen.  Something that has already happened and by some freak incident was undone.”  

Alex pulls the ring out of her pocket and starts to kneel down.  Tears start forming in Tobin’s eyes.  “I love you so much and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.  I know we’ve done this before but last time you did it so this time it’s my turn.”  Alex takes a deep breath, staring deep into Tobin’s eyes as she holds the ring that she had given to Tobin eleven months prior out in front of her.  “Marry me?”

Tobin nods furiously as she pulls Alex up and wraps her arms tightly around her waist.  Alex holds her just as tightly, stroking her hair as best she can with a ring in each hand.  “Tobs, I have rings if you want.”

Tobin pulls back, her hand almost instinctively going to where they would rest if they were still on a chain around her neck but stops halfway there.  She looks down and finally notices the ring Alex had held out was her original ring.  Alex grabs her hand and slips it onto her finger while Tobin tries to piece it all together in her head. “How...but you...Ali,” Tobin says putting the pieces together.

“There were a lot of people in on it actually,” Alex says as she glances towards the parking lot where she had insisted the team wait until she beckoned them over.

Tobin turns too, finding most of the team standing or sitting around the rest of the team vans. “I thought you were going to break up with me.”

Alex smiles, “Nope.  Just let you know that I want you in my life forever.”

“Also,” Alex holds out her other hand, where her engagement ring sits.  “I wasn’t sure if you would want to use different rings or not so we can go shopping if you want.”

Tobin furiously shakes her head.  “No.”  She takes the ring from Alex’s palm and lightly grabs Alex’s left hand.  “These rings got me through a lot.  Seeing you wear it again is all that I have wished for since you woke up.”  She slips it onto Alex’s finger.  “And it looks better on your finger than around my neck.”  

Alex grabs Tobin’s face with both hands and kisses her hard. They hear clapping and catcalls from their teammates but choose to ignore them.  After a full minute they pull apart, panting slightly.

“Are you still going to kiss like that when you’re 80?” Tobin asks out of breath, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Better,” Alex smirks in response.  “I won’t have my teeth to get in the way.”

Tobin laughs and buries her head into Alex’s neck.  “Just promise me one thing.” Tobin says, her words muffled against Alex’s skin.

“Anything.”

“Don’t forget me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I don't really know what to say. This went so much farther than I ever expected it to. Thank you so much to everyone who read/commented/kudosed/etc. you kept me going
> 
> As previously stated this is the last chapter but the saga doesn't have to be over. If there are things that you feel you missed out on let me know and I will write it. You can either comment here, the new story when i post it or to my tumblr (memyselfandmygirlfriend) if I'm absent for a strangely long amount of time. I'm going to be working on a new story so that will be my primary focus but sometimes i need to take a step back from something so writing from prompts would be good.


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